Ok, if we have to be politically correct I think we should fight back and make them politically correct!

As I drive down the road, I am assaulted with signs that the government has erected. Signs like “Slow Children!” Can you believe that? What is the world coming to?

Read the rest here.

How many sins can I commit before I go to hell? I mean, everyone commits sins in life, but God wouldn’t send us to hell just because of a few sins. I’ve probably lead a good life compared to other people – it’s not like I’ve killed anyone!

Read the rest here.

Eric Novak

I am So Random

“Ants, ants in my muffin! One’s wiggling and giggling in my throat!” − My little sister comments about the chocolate chips in her muffin.

See? Told you it was a random post!

I was tagged by a few people, and now I will lump them all into one post for your random pleasure. Plus I get to tag more people! Bwah, ha, ha (an evil laugh)! 

Well all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so it looks like its time for some fun around HSB! I have been chosen for a consultant judge, on a new contest. It’s pretty simple, all you need to do is write a tribute to your dad! 10 winners will receive a $10:00 gift certificate to the old school house store, and 1 lucky winner will be chosen to be in featured in TOS magazine!

Here are the official rules.    

Even though this is NOT officially an HSB contest. It is open to anyone 21 and younger who comes across the contest on my blog, Amanda's, Paul’s, Jocelyn’s, etc. 10 winners will each receive a $10 gift card (no strings attached and shipping is even free) to the Schoolhouse Store. Five winners may be chosen to appear in a Father's Day tribute (next year) in the pages of TOS Magazine (we may ask you to edit your post down for size/clarity if you win a spot in the magazine). Blog URL may be included as well. Paulie Suarez, and Amanda Dixon are the judges.

 - Post an entry entitled, "TRIBUTE TO MY DAD" (you MUST title it this way to qualify as a participant).

- Entry can be as long or short as you wish (the longer ones MAY have a better chance of winning).

- Don't just say what is wonderful about your dad - be detailed! Tell us WHY your dad is as terrific as you say he is.

- Once you have posted your entry, come and comment on both Amanda and Paulie's blogs (both of them), giving them the URL where your entry is posted.

- For a better chance of being selected, also post a comment on BlogBoy and Jocelyn Dixon's blogs - provide the URL to your entry in those comment sections - IMPORTANT. BlogBoy and Jocelyn will be consultant judges.

- 21 years or younger please.

- Contest ends August 15. Winners notified August 20.

Do Hard Things – Forgive Someone

In the rush of everyday life, we are losing the meaning of being a Christian! We are not on track with our faith, we are not on course with our walk with God, and we are not using Biblical love in our everyday lives! If we spent as much time reading the Bible, as we did partaking in leisure activities, maybe we would be able to learn what forgiveness means from Christ’s example.

One of the hardest, and yet one of the most important lessons a Christian can learn from the Bible is the lesson of Mercy. All through the Bible mercy is talked about, and pointed out as a necessity to being a Christian.

Read the rest here.

I’m moving my blog. Sorry to spring it on y'all so sudden, but its true. I’m moving on to EricNovak.com. I’m still going to keep my HSB and HSB2 blogs, but I’m only going to be posting partial entries on them. You will no longer be notified of posts on HSB or HSB2, but I will notify you when I make a post on EricNovak.com. If you would like to keep up to date with my blogs, please sign up for my email list. Just email me here.

Here is my first partial post, posted on EricNovak.com

A Little Bit of Bark

A Greek historian once said,

There is no witness so dreadful, no accuser so terrible as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every man.”

For the most part he was right, but on the other hand, he may have overlooked what scripture a seared conscience.

On our property there is a huge evergreen bush, standing like a sentry on the side of driveway. When it snows, it is transformed into a beautiful snow globe, and in the summer it is lush and green and home to many creatures. This year however, I noticed a large portion of the evergreen branches had turned a brown. On further inspection (and some interrogation), I found out that…

Read the rest here

There are two sides to a human, the flesh side and the faith side. All too often our flesh side takes over, and what we end up with is a Christian who has locked God in the closet!

The most common times that our flesh has an opportunity to take over is when we are going through a trial or waiting on God. 

I know that I have been talking about Jacob a lot, but I’m going to use his life as an example again.

When Jacob was born, God made a promise to him. He said (Genesis 25: 23), “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples shall be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger then the other; And the older shall serve the younger.” Around the age of 40* Jacob got tired of waiting on God. His flesh took over, and he decided to take matters into his own hands. As he made up the lentil stew, he was probably thinking, “God promised me, but maybe I need to take matters into my own hands. I’ll just speed  God up a bit.” And so Jacob turns to his flesh and begins his life of trickery. It takes all of Jacob’s life for God to fulfill the promise he made in the first place.   

When God makes a promise, He is going to keep that promise. It might take a while, but God is not liar! When we turn to our flesh, and basically stick God out of sight, then we are postponing his promises. 

God allows trials in our lives for two different reasons – to test our faith and to offer a choice between our way and His. If we choose to wait in faith, then God will take care of us. 

“And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.” Joel 2:26

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12 

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14:18

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Our society is based around speed. Every appliance has been made to save us time. The faster you move, though, the harder it is to hear God’s whisper. Maybe if we slowed down, we would be able to tell the difference between the flesh and faith. When we are in pace with God, life’s decisions won’t seem as blurred as when we are racing with the world. 

God works everything for good, even the bad things! If you love Him, He will safely keep you, and bring all the situations you encounter to good.

* Dr. David Jeremiah theorizes that Jacob was around 40 or 50 when his stole Esau’s birthright.

Well I’m falling back on trickery. That's right, I’m going to use a stinkin’ blog trick to get out of posting today. I'm so tired that I can’t even think of anything to write, so I will post this video and let you all be sad that I didn’t write a real post. I'll try to blog soon, but that depends on how soon I get inspired! Anyway, here is the movie.

Here is the only argument I received from my Narnia post.

Argument

I've read the chronicles of Narnia 2-3 times through and probably read the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe more times than that.

The question here isn't really whether or not the "Magic" in that other world called Narnia is good or bad, or even an allegory of a good thing. But, the question is, should a Christian associate with magic? (Galatians 5:19-20)

In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, there was little magic done by the good guys. However, in following books from Narnia, you do see some of that. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader had the dufflepuds turned to different beings by a sort of "fallen star" or Wizard. Not to mention the magic rings which were, maybe good, maybe bad.

Rebuttal

As I explained before, the Magic in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is not really magic. A Christian can not be associated with magic if there is no real magic, hence my debunking the magic theory to see if it really was magic. The same goes for the magic and magician in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. They were used to test Lucy.

Galatians 5:19-20 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions”

The Greek translation of witchcraft is what our English word pharmacy is derived from. The Greek word could have the positive meaning of dispensing drugs. The real and more common meaning is the use of drugs in sorcery and witchcraft to poison people.

Argument

And as for mythological creatures, I'd say your rebuttal is slightly lacking. Why? Because people are real life things. You can't get away from humans. Mythological creatures are fake and if not, they were/are demonic. Back in olden times, people would see dwarves, fauns and satyrs. Nowadays we see aliens.

Rebuttal

In Lewis’s work, he portrayed a few mythological creatures as good, and he portrayed a few as bad. His good creatures were good and his bad creatures were bad. It does not matter if they appear in any other work, since his book is fiction.

Argument

I don't pretend like I didn't like chronicles of Narnia, or LOTR. I did enjoy them, but I don't actually read them anymore. I don't think that the things that aren't true ought to be thought on (Philippians 4:8)

Rebuttal

A lot of life application can be gained by reading fiction and non-fiction. According to your statement we should not read any fiction. As for the Philippians verse, we need to be led of the Holy Spirit. But I do want to say, if we follow that verse to a “T” then we will be excluded from reading the Bible. After all, the Bible does have a lot of violence in it. 

Narnia defines good verses evil. Here is a quote from Prince Caspian: “So that is your plan, Nikabrik! Black sorcery and calling up of an accursed spirit.” The story goes on, and the wicked hag is killed. Good triumphs over evil.

One of the writers of NJAO made a good point.

“Isn't it odd that some believers waste their time taking moral stands against something because of petty concerns?  They completely detract from its potential as a godly influence.”

If you would like to see the ministering aspect of Narnia please go to this link.

     Yesterday I posted a blog about the story of Joseph. Two people commented back, saying they didn’t think that Joseph had an arrogant attitude. After doing some more research, I found that there is not really a basis for saying that he had an attitude. I do think, however, if you read between the lines, Joseph may have been overly enthusiastic about sharing his dreams with his family. Perhaps that is what got him into trouble, but there is no place in scripture that says that he was arrogant about it.

      Most of the Bible is clearly written, but in some cases all the details are not given, leaving a little room for speculation. I will try to keep my posts in line with scripture, however, I am not God, so I may get a few things wrong. Preaching the Word is basically taking the truth of the Bible and giving it everyday application, and in that application we seek to identify with the people whose lives we read about in Scripture. How would I act toward my siblings if I were favored over them by my mother and father? Would I be able to remain humble? Or would I get an attitude? I guess that is just one of the questions we can ask ourselves, after looking at the life of Joseph.

    Another subject that was questioned from my post is the meaning of Jacob’s name. The name Jacob means: heel grabber or one who takes you by the heel. Taking a person by the heel is tricking that person. It’s almost like twisting someone’s arm to get them to do what you want. So the name Jacob does mean trickster.

    If you look at Jacob’s life, then you will see what I am talking about. Jacob tricked his brother into giving him his birthright. He tricked his father into giving him a blessing. He was a cunning man who didn’t know how to wait on God. So God took him through some painful trials until Jacob finally stopped taking back control and trusting God with all of his heart. By the end of Jacob’s life, God called himself, “The God of Jacob.”

For lack of a better blogging subject (no, I'm not running short on subjects, just running short on time to write posts). I am blogging a video that I made last year with our REAL pet raccoon. I originally intended for this video to be sold at a profit of $1.00 a viewing. I made a huge splash in the media, selling two videos and spending around $30.00 on hosting for my raccoonvideo.com! Now I have decided to release for your viewing pleasure.

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Ok! Everyone can kill me now!

Most people who come into Chicago, say that we have a funny accent. They say that we say "venilla" instead of "vanilla",  "melk" instead of "milk", and "tomatoes" instead of "tomotoes". I’ve lived near Chicago  all of my life and I’ve never developed a Chicago accent. I don’t even have an accent! Well, once in a while I imitate other people’s funny accents, but on the whole I just talk normally. What is a normal accent, though? Doesn’t everyone have a different accent? If every accent is different, then there is no normal accent. So, if you come to Chicago, don’t tell me that I have an accent, unless I’m doing my Scottish imitation, which is funny! I practiced up on it for this post so everyone can hear it. I’m posting it on my pod cast! An accent is basically an adaptation of the people you hear around you.
 

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I think that all fishermen are optimists. We go out to catch the “big one” and even if we don’t get a bite, we still think that the fishing was great! Today I went fishing with the little girls. We only caught a few small fish, but the fishing was still fun! Just sitting in the boat we saw a buck come to drink at the waters edge, a huge white stork, two mallard ducks, a sand hill crane, and a beaver. Even if fishermen don’t catch anything, they still get a great chance to observe nature.

Psalm 19: 1-2 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”

NJAO is looking for guest writers! If you have an opinionated subject that you would like write about, please send it to this e-mail. There is no age limit. NJAO is open to anyone who wishes to post! If you wish to submit an article please read the writer’s note at the bottom of this post.

I’ve made a new post on NJAO! Here are a few excerpts from Another Narnia Debate.

From The Arguments

The Magic in Narnia can cause me to stumble, Matthew 18:8.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe has magic in it. Magic is bad!

Lewis used so many characters from Greek mythology! Didn’t you know that a faun is a bad creature?

From The Rebuttals

If Narnia is causing you to stumble, please don’t read the books or watch the movie.

Everyone knows about the law of gravity. This law can not be countered, it is a fact of life! The magic in Narnia is like the law of gravity. It’s a law that cannot be countered!

I’ve decided not to read any books with humans in them because most humans are bad!

What Others Have Said About This Article

Those were some good points to bring up. I especially enjoyed the second rebuttal. :-D  The last point was a good one to close on. Isn't it odd that some believers waste their time taking moral stands against something because of petty concerns?  They completely detract from its potential as a godly influence.

Read the Post and Comments Here

I finally found a Christian music artist that I like. It’s Casting Crowns! I was really influenced by their song If We Are The Body. The song explains how the body of Christ should be ministering to people. One of the lines that really caught my attention though was “Jesus paid much too high a price, for us to pick and choose who should come.” This is a really good point, so today I’m going to write on Christian Partiality.

If I was street evangelizing, and a large man covered with tattoos jumped off his Harley and came towards me, my first reaction would be to run. I would probably not try to talk to that kind of man, and my reaction would be to get out of his way. On the other hand, I probably would feel a lot more comfortable talking to a well-dressed business man.

We obviously associate sin with appearance. A large biker is bound to have done something wrong, right? But a man straight from the office, probably wouldn’t have been in a bar fight today.

The problem with reading people by their covers is that we don’t know what’s on the inside. Outward appearance often does reveal the heart, but not always. Our job is not to judge, but to love – unconditionally.

Just think if Jesus had decided who he was going to save. If he saved by human standards, most of us would not be saved. Jesus came to save sinners. There is no other standard for redemption! Human judgment is self-focused, hypocritical blather! It's basically loophole theology!

James 2: 12-13 says, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

Today I went out to the back of the garage where all of the animals are kept. I was watching the little ducks when I noticed that one of the big buff cochin roosters was acting strange. He would walk a few steps and then fall over, get up, and fall over again. After a few minutes of watching him, I realized that his spurs had grown so long they where locking together and making him trip!

I did a little research on the internet, and there are two basic ways to trim a roosters spurs. You can take a pair of pliers and twist the spur until the outside comes off leaving a smaller one inside or you can take a pair of wire cutters and clip the spur off. Dad and I decided on the wire cutter method. We grabbed the rooster, but the wire cutters were too small to get around the spurs, so Dad got the hacksaw and we ended up sawing the spurs off!

One of the spurs came off fine, but the other started to bleed. I don’t want to gross anyone out with pictures of blood, but it is a fact of farm life, and roosters that get too big for their “britches.”

Dad took electric tape and we put at bandage on the rooster’s shortened spur.

I think that we did a pretty good job. Maybe we should hire ourselves out as chicken doctors!

Something to Look Forward to! NJAO Post

I will soon be posting a Narnia article on NJAO! In it I will answer the really not-so-tough arguments like “Did you know The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe has magic in it. Magic is bad!” and “Lewis used so many characters from Greek mythology! Did you know that a faun is a really bad creature?”

This is the most comprehensive Narnia entries I have ever written, if you want to know how to defend the Chronicles of Narnia, now is your chance to learn how!

NJAO Info

Not Just an Opinion is looking for guest writers! If you feel strongly on a subject, contact us, and become a NJAO guest writer!

Well, yesterday I said that I would post something that everyone could have for free. So here it is (this where you insert the drum roll). I am offering to make a free banner for anyone who wants one. All you need to do is post a comment saying “I want a free banner” and a link to your blog. Once you get the banner, the only thing you need to do is post a link to this blog entry on your side bar or in a post. Take a look at the banners I’ve made for some other people.

I've made all of the banners on the left sidebar, and these.

I also was privileged to make some banners for the 90 Day Bible Challenge. Check out their blog and join us. It’s going to be a pretty neat experience!

Let’s see, today I linked to my blog on a tech site, on yahoo answers and on Narnia web! Linking your blog does help with getting hits, but it’s not the only thing you need to keep your visitors coming. Here are the three C’s I use to get visitors coming to my blog, and keep them coming.

Content 

I don’t blog nonsense. Well I do blog nonsense – I just don’t blog posts with links, only a video, etc. All of my posts have to have a good topic, and they can’t be repeats of the same topic. People want content, and they want a lot it. Blog every day, and your hits will go up. Content is a really good starter, but what good is content, if no one can find your blog?

Connecting

The random blog button is a powerful tool. To get more people interested in your blog you can go random blogging and leave comments on blogs that you like. The other blogger will check out your blog, reply to your comment, and maybe add you to their friends list! Think of every random blog you comment on as a page hit, because it really is.

Comments

I always post back comments. If I get a comment, then I post one back to the person who gave it to me. This way my commenters feel like they have something to gain by commenting.

There are a lot more ways to market your blog, this is just a starter. Watch tomorrow for a chance to get something FREE! That’s a good marketing technique, too!

Today I decided to do my devotions under the spreading oaks in our front yard. While lying on the grass and reading my Bible, one particular passage jumped out at me.

Romans 8: 6-7

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.”

As humans we naturally have a mind set on the flesh. After the fall, Adam and Eve were incapable of having a spiritual mindset. The Bible verse above says, “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.” The fleshly mindset not only doesn’t submit itself to God, it CAN’T submit itself to God! We can’t subject ourselves to God without His help. Pray to God that He will help us lose our fleshly mindset. Pray that we will be able to have a Spiritual mindset and be subject to His Word.

After I looked at that passage, I did some cross referencing, and I found this verse.

James 4: 4

“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

1 John 2: 15

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

In the first place I would like to say that the world is so sick, I don’t know why anyone would love it in the first place. I do feel a sorrow for people, but I know that there is nothing that can be done to save them apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Teens are the most susceptible to loving the world and the things of it. All of the ads are aimed at us, telling us that we can become cooler by doing the “cultural” thing. Music, videos, clothing styles – they all point inward. But God’s Word can us free. We need to focus on the eternal not the external. We need to be in the world, and not of it.

Go congratulate Gena! She’s pregnant!  

Yesterday, on a sudden whim, I decided to go walking in the fields beyond our house to take a look at the plentiful milkweed and see if I could find any monarch caterpillars. It was windy day and the grass looked like the sea, reminding me of a quote from the book Sara, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. “It’s not the right colors,” Sarah tells Anna and Caleb, the children of a widowed Midwestern farmer...
    I didn’t really expect to find any monarch caterpillars this year, but amazingly they were everywhere! I’ve scored the highest for caterpillar finds this season with 12 to my name! Due to some unexpected mortalities, we decided not to keep them in a ball jar this time, but to let them feast on the milkweed in the flowerbed right outside the house. Knowing how fast just one hungry caterpillar can devour a leaf, I’m not sure how long that milkweed will last! Check out more about monarch caterpillars at my moms site!

Americans really overprice their food. Go to any major supermarket, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The meat cooler is filled with ham, turkey, roast beef, and braunschweiger, all priced over $4.00 a pound! If you go to a Polish Deli however, you’ll find that their prices are much, much lower. The kielbasa is around $3.75, the kaszanka $3.50, and the braunschweiger is only around $3.00! If American’s priced their food a little lower, and worried less about making a killing, they might make up for it in volume!

In My Opinion

Take me for instance. I can’t really afford to buy liver sausage. I really like it, and personally, I think it tastes good, but there is one problem. I don’t always have enough cash to indulge my culinary whims. When I shopped for the first time at a Polish Deli not far from our house, I was pleased to find braunschweiger a lot cheaper. I think Polish liver sausage tastes a lot better than the American type anyway!

From a Food Expert (ha!)  

For some strange reason people who like sushi and calamari, don’t usually like liver sausage. Paul Suarez, assures me that he speaks for his whole family when he says, “Dude, you’re nasty! I've had turkey liver before, and man, it was no treat!” Not sure why he feels that way, but when I visit him in October, I plan to bring some braunschweiger with and we’ll see what he says then. 

Different Kinds of Liver Sausage

I case you’re confused, braunschweiger is smoked liver sausage and liver sausage is un-smoked braunschweiger! Actually, that’s not really correct. Liver sausage will never be braunschweiger unless its smoked – my point being, liver sausage and braunschweiger are made from the same pig.   

Where I Learned to Love Liver

I’m sure I inherited my love of liver sausage from my Grandpa. When he lived in an assisted care facility nearby, it was normal to get an occasional phone call from him requesting his favorite foods. One time we had to go to the store and buy him braunschweiger, rye bread, and onions. He really loved that. He’d cut a thick slice of onion about 1/2 inch thick and spread braunschweiger and mayonnaise on two pieces of bread with the onion stuffed in-between, making a really good sandwich. My father always impressed on me that I should try every kind of food at least once. A common saying heard around our house is, “Your Dad doesn’t eat bad food!” 

Perhaps…  

Maybe if Paul Suarez did a little family research, he would find out that his Great Great Grandfather’s Uncle, on his Mother’s side, was a Polish Braunschweiger Baron! After all, Paul has never actually tasted braunschweiger, but maybe he can find some reasonably priced at a local deli, and taking my father’s advice – just try it once!

Being biblically sound and showing it on your blog is a crime. Well, at least to some of the hate commenters it is. A person can’t even post a sound teaching on their blog without being ridiculed for it! I personally have not had a problem with this sort of thing, but I know that it’s going on. The reason why people feel that they have to post hate comments is because they aren’t popular. Any popular Christian will be a target for hate comments, because people can’t stand to see success – unless it’s their own.

Crackdown!

The only way to deal with hate commenters is to secure your blog. If you’re having problems with hate comments, switch your settings so only logged in people can comment. Log IPs, and when you get an anonymous comment send the IP and comment to HSB.

My take on this

I don’t really understand why there are so many contentious people around. If I don’t like something on a blog, I don’t leave spam, I just exit the site. The bottom line is that  Christians will always be persecuted for there faith, and there is nothing we can do about it. I really see blog persecution as another way to grow in your faith. As Americans, we aren’t heavily persecuted for our faith right now. If we do receive persecution on-line and learn how to deal with it, then maybe we will be more prepared to face other trials in our lives.

2 Corinthians 12 7-10

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Well, I said that I would post surprise banners today, so if you want to use them all you need to do is sign up for my e-mail list! Pretty easy, huh? E-mail me here and sign up. 28 other people did!

This post is kinda’ funny, but I promise tomorrow I will post a serious entry.

Did I ever tell you how much I love watermelon? A few days ago Dad went to the store and bought two large watermelons. We put them in the refrigerator, and as soon as they where cool, we sliced them up. I really didn’t know that I loved watermelon until Dad brought them home. I’ve had it before, but I’ve never eaten it excessively. Yesterday my meals consisted of three things, if you don’t consider my splurge around 11:00 p.m. I got up and I ate watermelon. It tasted really good from being in the fridge overnight. It was a good breakfast. For lunch, I ate – guess what? Watermelon! The best part is the middle. For dinner, I didn’t realize what I was doing, so I ate watermelon and I wasn’t sick of it yet. Then around 11:00 p.m. I had a corn dog (it was a really good corn dog). Back to the watermelon. If you’re trying to lose weight, watermelon is a really good diet food. If you want sugar, you should probably eat a serving of watermelon. It only has it only has 46 calories per 1 cup serving! Here is the nutritional information for the watermelon.

And here are the surprise banners. Subject? Watermelon! 

Today I went out into the garden to help mom and the girls pick weeds. We haven’t planted the garden yet, we were just pulling up new growth and some of last year’s old growth. It’s rained for a few days here, but it still was hard work to get those weeds out! After picking for about an hour, I somehow ended up in the wildflower and strawberry patch where I found, mixed in with the tall grass, some sweet surprises. Mom planted a bunch of milkweed and wildflowers in one corner of the garden, and over the last two years, they’ve grown to cover the strawberries. The strawberries don’t seem to be crowded, though. They actually seem to be thriving! Anna picked some strawberries, and I took some pictures of her holding them. Mom took a picture of me holding some also, and you can tell that I was indeed pulling weeds by the dirt on my hands!

Two of the pictures on my blog are of my little sister. Please go over to her blog, and tell her how much you liked the pictures since she doesn’t get many comments. 

My e-mail alert list is around 27 people right now, and I’m looking for more! If you read my blog, and would like to get daily alerts, sign up now, and get a free blog icon! I’m going to be posting these surprise icons tomorrow, and for people who sign up for my e-mail list, they are totally free! What will the mystery icons be? Please e-mail me to join. ericnovak@dls.net

According to the Encarta Dictionary (standard in Microsoft Word) the word praise means: “Words that express great approval or admiration, for example, for somebody’s ability or achievements or for something’s good qualities. Worship and thanks to God or a deity.”

The word worship means: “To love, admire, or respect somebody or something greatly and perhaps excessively or unquestioningly to treat somebody or something as divine and show respect by engaging in acts of prayer and devotion.” 

Surprisingly the world’s definition of those words comes close to their true meanings. Praise means worship and worship means unconditional praise!

Praise can be centered on circumstances, however. Sometimes we sound like this, “Thanks, God, for my new car. Thanks for the business deal that just went through! Thanks that for my family, or thanks for letting me have lots of money in the bank!”

Worship is unconditional, however! When we worship God unconditionally, we worship Him despite our circumstances. “Thank you God that this old car runs. I worship you even though my business deal just fell through. Thank you for my family, even though they’re not perfect. Even though I don’t have a penny in the bank, I will trust in You.”

Unconditional worship goes against human nature. We don’t naturally want to worship God when our lives are going bad, but what we need to realize is that God is our protector and provider. If He watches over the birds of the air, don’t you think he can watch over us, too? By acknowledging that God is in control and surrendering our lives to Him, we can worship Him unconditionally.

Yesterday was warm, so I went out walking. When I say walking, I really mean a circuit around the mowed property. One whole side of our yard is surrounded by fields, so when I came around the back of the barn I made an interesting discovery. The corn was really tall! The old saying goes, “Knee high by the fourth of July.” Well, it’s only June and the corn is already knee high! It’s been raining quite a bit here, and its perfect weather for growing corn. The old saying is open to some speculation, however. Whose knee is the corn high to? Is it knee high to the average 5’9” American or is it knee high to my 6’3 towering frame? Is it knee high to farmer Joe at his 6’skinny as a rail self? Or is it up to his wife’s bulgy knees at 5”2”? Obviously there must be an average knee height, but I’m not so sure what that is. I did a little research on the average knee height, but I didn’t come up with anything except “how to detect growth deficiency by knee height!” According to my figures the average knee height based off of the average American’s height is around 21 to 25 inches. So “knee high by the fourth of July” probably means that the corn is around 21 inches high – on average.

I can really tell that it’s spring! Ok, well maybe it’s only a few weeks away from summer, but to me it finally feels like spring. Spring is always symbolized by hatching chicks, but since our hens didn’t get the notion to set, we never had a “real” spring. We got quite a few contributions from other school hatches in the area though, and all of the sudden we were swamped with poultry!

Around the beginning of May we found one of our bantams set on a varitety of different sized eggs! After sitting for around twenty three days – she hatched two chicks! One was hatched from a normal chicken’s egg, and one was hatched from a bantam egg!

The Bantam chick.We received around 11 Mallard ducklings from the school system. It's amazing how fast these little buggers grow! They all have different personalities, and they seem to be changing quickly before our very eyes.

One duck.

Two ducks.

Close up.

Even closer.

Itchy grass.

The regular chick peeping,  "I want my Mommie!"
Just hangin' out.

Siblings.

When Mom came back from visiting my older sister in Kentucky, she brought back a surprise, two African goslings! They fit right in with the older geese, and our gander even adopted them right away! I'll post about that later.

Aren't I cute?

Yum, I sure do like grass.

Well thanks to the Dixons, I’ve got my new template up! What do y’all think? It looks best in a 1024 X 768, but it should work in other resolutions as well. I’m still working on the header, and there is still some minor tweaking to be done. Over all though, my site template is up!

The Moon

I’ve always been infatuated with the moon. It’s really very beautiful. I don’t mean I like to study it or anything, I just like to look at it. I took a picture of it with the outline of the silo by it last night, it didn’t turn out so good, but here it is.

Here is a song from the Celtic Moon Collection, Aos Dana. 

Well, I’ve got some good news. My site NotJustanOpinion.com is up and running! Besides myself, there are five other highly qualified contributors: Paul Suarez, Jocelyn Dixon, Amanda Dixon, Timothy Estabrooks, and Amanda Read. I’ve coauthored the first entry with Miss Jocelyn and we’ve posted it as well! Here are some excerpts from “Keepers of the Home or Defenders of the Workplace”

From the Intro

“Should women be the keepers of the home? This subject is widely pondered, debated, and disputed. We’re going to give a few scripture references, and then a commentary after each one. This should clarify why women being keepers of the home is Not Just an Opinion.”

From Miss Jocelyn’s Section

“Satan knows that God intended the woman to be at home, but over the centuries Satan has watered it down so much that we cannot tell if it’s water or wine.”

From My Section 

“Solomon, one of the wisest men that ever lived said that one of the many character flaws of the adulteress is that she doesn’t stay at home. Doesn’t that make you wonder if women should be keepers of the home?”

What Others Have Said About This Article

“As a keeper of my home, I SO appreciate this post! Over the last few months, God has been encouraging me and reminding me of the “holiness” of my calling. Sometimes in the business of laundry, cleaning, schooling, etc., that purpose gets a little lost, know what I mean? So thanks for the Biblically sound reminder…”

Read the Post and Comments Here

Well since it’s May, it’s my blogging anniversary. I’ve been blogging on HSB for two years. I’ve stuck it out… 

I went back into my archives yesterday and took a look around. I was really surprised to see how much my writing has improved. I know that I was only 14 when I started blogging, but my writing has come a long way.

Take a look at an excerpt from “Yodeling Fool” posted May 27^th, 2005.

“The horror started in a bedroom. But instead of your common laboratory with bubbling tubes and foul smelling liquids, it started with much better equipment – a tape player and a “Riders in the Sky” tape. You must be thinking, what’s this kid getting at? Well, I’ll tell you…it’s this little bug and once it’s got you it won’t let go – THE YODELING BUG!!!

When I was ten, I learned to yodel, and it wasn’t long until I was driving everyone crazy with my new-found ability.”

Interesting huh? I can’t yodel anymore, but I can sing decently. Maybe I should post about that.

Here is an excerpt from “Everyone’s a Winner” posted a year later on May 5^th, 2006.

“Who exactly is "everyone?" Everyone is certainly not me! I'm a contestoholic. Every time I go to the fair I enter all of the free sweepstakes, contests, and drawings. If it involves getting something for free, I'll enter. Now entering is great, but winning once in a while would be nice! Out of all the contests I've entered (an odd 67 or so), I've won the grand total of none. Unless the car the Menards people said I won was legit. Of course that was the one my mom said, "We're not interested, thank you!" and hung up!”

I think my writing started improving around 2006. Here is my entry and comment tally from two years of blogging. The grand total is:157 entries, 619 comments, and 84 friends. Hopefully, I’ll be sticking around here for a few more years!

Yesterday, when I was cleaning out a box of CDs when I came across an old floppy disk. I popped it into mom’s never used floppy drive and patiently waited for it to read. When Local Disk A came up, I discovered “ancient runes”! Okay, maybe not runes, but just old writings. I found a story that I wrote with my sister’s help when I was seven or eight years old. This really is an interesting story! It’s an “original Eric” kind of like an original Renoir!

Cully Cully went to the bookstore.

He was sad.

He wanted to be a King,
though he wasn’t.

He was just a hunter named Cully Cully.

Cully Cully looked at the books on the bookshelf.

There was a book.

It said “How to be a King, by Cully Cully’s Grandfather.”

Cully Cully took the book down.

“Here is a book about being a King!”

“It will teach myself how to be a King. He thought to himself.
Then I will not be Cully Cully the Hunter.

I will be Cully Cully the King.”

Cully Cully opened the book.

This is how it went.

The King looked out of the window.

He was sad.

He wanted to be a hunter,

though he wasn’t.

He was only a King named Shighty.

Shighty went to the wise man.

“Please help me!”

He said, “I don’t want to be a King.

I want to be a hunter.

How can I be a hunter when I am a King?”

“Go home,” said the wise man,

“Get your rifle. Take it to the forest,

and shoot a deer.Then you will be a hunter.”

“Thank you,” said the King.

“I will do what you said.”

So the King went home and got a rifle.

He went into the forest.

He shot a big deer.

Then he went back to the palace.

“I am not a King!”

He told all of the people.

“I am just a hunter named Shighty.

Another person will have to be the King.”

Cully Cully left the book store.

He went back to the forest.

He went back to his little house in the forest.

Soon a big bunch of people came running up to the house.

“Will you be our King?”

They asked.
“Our real King turned into a hunter.
Now we need a hunter to be the King.”

“Yes,” said Cully Cully.

“I have always wanted to be a King.

I will come with you to the Palace and be your King.”

So the people took Cully Cully to the Palace.

They gave him a crown and a robe.

They gave him a scepter and fine clothes.

“Now you are our King!”

They said.

“You are Cully Cully the King!”

Cully Cully smiled.

He liked being a King.

“It is just like the story.” He said.

“The King is a hunter and the hunter is a King.

I like being a King. That is a good thing to be.”

All of the people cheered.

They threw roses to their King.

They threw roses to King Cully Cully.

THE END.

There are three things that are too amazing for me, three that I do not understand!

The way of a man as he goes to the employer like an ox to slaughter, the way of the government with post office employees, and the way of a librarian, who messes up your card and says, “I have done nothing wrong!”

Slaveitude. 

       Our culture has some low standards. For some reason they think that we are really stupid, and that we need to work for someone else. I don’t think they’re right. We all have something that we could do and the ability to start our own businesses. I’ve started a few businesses, and other projects that will help me in the business world later on. Currently I have a template business, a web design business, and a video editing service. I own three domains, host two separate sites, run three different blogs, and a group blog, and I’m only sixteen! If I have the ability to accomplish that, then most dads who are working for other people could be home working for themselves. As a result of their slaveitude, they are wasting their time and losing cash (I know it is hard for some dads to make the transition, but I encourage them to do everything they can to have their own home business.   

The Two Hour Post Office.

Everyone needs the post office. If you’re mailing a large package to your Aunt Bertha or sending 500 magazines out to costumers, you’re going to need the post office. Unfortunately, everyone knows this, so they all go to the post office at the same time! It’s okay though because the post office has 6 registers, so they can help everyone in a timely fashion. Yes, they have six checkouts and that should speed everything up, but I’ve never seen more than three people working the counter at once! The line goes out the front door, and a little way down the sidewalk, and when you finally get inside the stifling building (nope, no air-conditioning or open windows) you find yourself in very close proximity with people like your Uncle Chris (Aunt Bertha’s husband). I think the government could be a little more respectful of people’s time, or change the sign to “two- hour post office!”     

Librarians (that’s right), Just Librarians!  

The other day we went to the library. I know most of my library entries start this way, but it’s true, we just “go” to the library. And as usual, I knew there was going to be problems. My card was basically in hock, and in order to get it out of hock I had to pay ten dollars. This I willingly did, and while in the process, I decided to check on Dad’s card. Dad’s card had around ten dollars on it, but it was blocked because he hadn’t used it in a long time. Dad paid his fine and the librarian assured us that the block was removed. We went home with a few books. A week later Dad wanted me to put a book on hold for him, so I looked up his card and for some reason it was blocked! He went back to the library and they told him the card was blocked due to unpaid fines! He explained that he paid the fines a week ago, but the Liberian wanted a receipt. Dad didn’t have one, so the lady punched some numbers on the computer and said she’d have to talk to the manger. She never came out of the back room. Dad tried his card again and the card was unblocked! Librarians need to stop experimenting with our cards.

It’s my best hobbity friend’s birthday today! Go over to Jocelyn’s blog, and post your congrats!

In America we love our roads. We build new roads, rebuild old roads, and rebuild rebuilt roads! In my home town they love making new roads, so that is why we have a new highway.

Originally a two-lane road ran through town, intersecting a large four-lane highway on the other side. If you followed the road in the opposite direction, you eventually ran into another four-lane highway. The normal speed was 55 mph, and you could get from point A to point B in no time.

Then somebody had the great idea to build a “new” highway! They decided to join the two highways on either side of town by connecting them with a four-lane bypass! 

After a long wait the highway was finally finished and we drove on it for the first time. It was really smooth, but the main thing I noticed is that the speed limit had changed! Now instead of being 55 mph it was 40 mph. The road went from two lanes to four, and the speed limit dropped by 15 mph! If they decide to make it six lanes in the future, then the speed will only be 10 mph! Isn’t our town council smart?

Another thing I noticed is that we swing from one extreme to the other. If the road is falling apart, then the town will send a truck out to dump a few shovel-full loads of asphalt into every one out of ten holes. But if the road has one minor glitch, then they rip it up and lay down a whole new section!

I don’t understand the town council. Maybe we should all go back to riding horses…

I've started a brand new group blog, check it out!



Note: NotJustanOpinion.com is only viewable in Fire Fox. We are working on getting it compatible with Internet Explorer. In the meantime you can download Fire Fox at this link: Fire Fox

I will award a few blogs, then those bloggers can award five more bloggers, and those  five bloggers can award another five bloggers, ect.

When a blogger is awarded, he will be given a banner that he can paste in his sidebar, and that banner must remain linked to my site.

Here is the award banner.

Here is the image code.

Today I mowed the grass for the first time in six months. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad! I had to mow around the garden, around the house, and around the barn. This may sound a little confusing, so I’ll post some pictures to let you see just how much lawn I have to mow!

The yard I mow is around two acres, but that’s not the only reason why I don’t like doing it! The other factor is that the mower I use is a walking mower, and the self propelled which makes it go forward is broken! So I basically have to mow two acres with a push mower (at least I don’t have to mow the lawn with a pair of scissors)!

Keep it in context 

This week I’ve become aware of something that we all need to pay closer attention to, keeping the scriptures in context! More and more I’ve seen people taking a verse or passage and apply it to their writing, claming it means one thing, when in reality it means another! Let me give you an example of the kind of writing and reasoning I’ve found.

Example post:

I’ve been reading the bible lately, and I think God has been telling my through his word that he really does not like eyes because they can cause you to sin. The bible says in

Mark 9:47: And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,” so obviously God hates eyes because they can cause you to sin! I also think that God hates hands.

End Example Post

That’s how people take the Bible out of context! When we do use a verse we need to make sure it is well researched and used in context.

If non- Christians get on our blogs, which I’m sure they do, they need to be reading a accurate translation of scripture.

We are totally free in America; we can do what ever we want. We don’t know when this is going to change. While we are free, we need to act. We need to be evangelizing the lost. We don’t know when we are going to be persecuted for Christ’s sake, so we need to be saving people now!

Matthew 5: 10-11 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I think that the part of the verse that says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness” is what came first to the early church, and is what is going to come to the church of Jesus Christ in the end times. I think that the word “persecuted” means killed.

The second part (verse 11) is what we are going through right now, only in a mild way. We might be looked down on as Christians, but not to the point where we are killed for our faith. Right now we should be worried about all of the people that are going to hell! We need to be evangelizing!

Get on fire, get equipped!

http://www.livingwaters.com/listenwatch.shtml

Matthew 28: 19

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

This past week I’ve been seeing what really matters in life. I was all wrapped up in the  blog awards when one of the people running the contest found out she had cancer.

When something like that happens you really get snapped back to reality. We need to weigh our motives, and see if what we are focusing on is for us or Christ. Proverbs 6: 2 “All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” 

Please pray for Heather and her family. They are going through a tough time right now.

Read my newest blog KeepYour Kids at Home and Elections over at EricNovak.com

Some people say that they don’t like writing about themselves. They say this as they are blogging, usually before they blog about something pertaining to their lives. They sit in front of their computer and type out their little self contradicting post, not even realizing what they are doing.

    Blogging is writing about your self. The whole basis of blogging is to write about something you like or dislike. The second you post a blog, even a small blog, you have written about yourself. If you post an opinion guess what? You are in fact, writing about yourself. You don’t have to write something about where you were born to write about yourself. All it takes is a small entry. Therefore, when you say that you don’t like writing about yourself, your saying that you don’t like blogging!

     As for my writing, I feel that I am strongly opinionated. I like writing about the truth and then blatantly shoving it in people’s faces. I think that this quote is another reason why I write.

“If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing.” ~ Kingsley Amis

Spring Snow

We’re having a wonderful spring in Illinois. The daffodils and scilla have bloomed, and are even preserved! That’s right, they’re preserved! They’re kind of caught in a state of suspended animation because we have around seven inches of snow! Yesterday we were rollerblading; today the driveway is covered with snow! Here are a few picture of the spring/winter madness. You choose which season it is. I’m sure confused!

I’ve been privileged to be nominated for the Home School Blog Awards for 2006. There was a slight mistake and I wasn’t put on the voting page. That is now rectified. I was nominated for the Best Teen Blog. Anyone can vote for this, so if you’re on my blog, feel free to vote now. No registration is needed, just head on over and vote here.

Since you are visiting, I’m assuming that you will want vote for me. You may not agree with that, you may want to vote for someone else. So let me give you a few reasons why you should vote for me.

First I post on my blog regularily. I don’t just post on my blog every week, I post every few days! This means that I provide you with enough materiel for you to satisfy your reading urges, you love reading!

I have three blogs. That’s right, three blogs with all different posts on them! I update them every few days, too! So you not only get to go on this blog and read it, you get to go on my EricNovak blog, and my Homestead Blog, too. That’s three different blogs to read, all for the price of one vote!

Now that you have a reason to vote, you may be stubborn and think, "Nope, not me!" But please reconsider or I’ll have to resort to bribery. If you are nice and vote for me, then I’ll give you a really pretty poster to put in your yard, one like this person, who already voted has!

Now if that doesn't work, there must be something wrong with you. The left lower quarter of your brain must not be functioning - the part of your brain that controls the "Votes for Eric" section. So I only have one last resort - a threat.

If you don’t vote for me, I’m going to totally break down. I’m going to stop blogging and shrivel up into a ball. I’ll totally break what I said in My Writing on EricNovak.com and it will be all your fault, just because you didn’t vote! Now look what you’ve done! You’ve totally ruined my life. It's all your fault and my friends will be sad.

Feeling bad? You still have one last chance to redeem yourself. Vote for me here!

Just kidding everyone, I don’t really care if I win that much, but it would be nice. I have a new feature over at EricNovak.com, you can now subscribe to my RSS feed, and get notified every time I blog! This is great for those of you who don’t already get my blog alert.

Congratulations to the Dixons! Mrs. Dixon had a baby girl this morning, so go on over to her blog and congratulate her yourself! You can tell them congrats at Mrs. Dixon blog. Oh, and they’ve decided to name the baby Erica after me, Right?

Eric

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”
~ Daniel 2: 20-21

From where I’m sitting, I can see the flowers blooming. They are coming into their time. In the bed beside the side of the house the daffodils have already bloomed. It seems like they’ve only been up for a week. Scattered across the lawn, bright green maple seeds have fallen to the ground. I can see the forsythia, its vivid yellow buds contrasted against the dullness of the surrounding bushes. Up on the hill the beautiful, but tiny scilla are flourishing. They are so small, and yet they dominate everything around them. Directly across the driveway, the red maple is in bud.

Nature is transition right now – changing from winter to spring. The beauty of the foliage is so amazing when compared with the stark deadness of the past winter months. Our awesome God created this for His good pleasure and our enjoyment. He made the seasons for us.

God made the winter for a reason, so that we would appreciate spring. He made lean times so that we would be grateful for prosperity. To everything there is a season.

scilla

Mapleseed

forsythia

daffodil

crocus

This blog subject was suggested by Jocelyn

It was a warm spring night – not really the ideal time of year to do what I wanted to do, but I suddenly felt like I had missed a big part of life. I wanted to go frogging.

I was sitting by an open window listening to the night sounds, when I heard a deep voice dominating the 65 degree air. Actually, it wasn’t one deep voice, it was thousands of voices – frog voices. Then it struck me that I had never gone frogging before. My grandparents probably did, and my dad might have, but I never had. I wasn’t “old fashioned” enough to have gone froggin’ before, so I immediately decided to remedy the situation by asking mom if I could go frogging down in the swamp. She said “sure” (she’s a great mom). So at eleven p.m., I trudged across the field with my sister Elizabeth (12), a few butterfly nets in hand, and a flashlight, and we headed for the swamp.

It was really windy, so the frogs didn’t hear us coming and kept up their loud croaking even when we got right up to the water’s edge. I knew that the swamp wasn’t deep, so we waded in. I felt adventurous like Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Fin.

The swamp has two main parts – a low land that’s only about two feet deep and then an embankment before the deep part which is around four or five feet deep. We went frogging in shallower end.

We were wading around in the water, being as quiet as possible, when all of the sudden we heard a loud meow. One of our cats had followed us and fell in the water! We looked back and saw her clambering back onto dry ground. I moved through the swamp, looking for frogs, which would be too small to eat, but great to put in a jar and watch. I never caught a glimpse of one because at that moment our cat started making an awful sound! It was halfway between a meow and a moan! I shone the flashlight across the swamp and  there was Buttercup, half in and out of the water meowing up a storm. Somehow she had circled the swamp and ended up all the way on the other side. I decided that I would have to cut across the swamp, grab the cat and bring her back, so that’s what I did.

I was around the middle when my shoes started to get stuck in the mud. I waded around and almost fell over! One of my shoes sucked off into the goop, but I quickly jammed my foot into it again. Finally, I got across and caught the cat. There would be no more frogging for that night, all the frogs were gone due to the racket!

Even if I did almost lose my shoes in the water, and even if we didn’t catch anything, I’m still really glad I went frogging last night. I’ll be able to tell my kids that I went frogging and carried on the tradition. My dad won’t be the last one to be old-fashioned after all.

View my latest post on Home Stead Blogger – I’m an Irish Lad!

Everyone wants to keep their writing safe. At least I want to keep my blogs safe! The question is what can we keep safe? What can we safely post and protect so no one can steal it? I went on the U.S. Copyright office’s website and did a little research about what the copyright does in fact protect.

When you write a piece and then post it on your blog it’s safe. No one can come along and take it. Take a look at the sentence below – do you think it’s copyrighted?

Hey everyone! I’ve been having a great time lately. Today I went to the field museum to see the exhibits. I had a great time, but the only problem was that I couldn’t get any good pictures – the flash kept bouncing off the glass. So then I had this great idea! If I put a wad of chewing gum on the side of my camera and then stuck a pocket mirror on it. When I took a picture it re-reflected the flash away from the lens! 

That small post would be copyrighted, but the content is not copyrighted. Someone could go and get a patent on my Chewing Gum Flash Reflector and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it! The only thing that is copyrighted is the way that I put it in words. Someone could not take my entry and post it on their blog without my permission.

On the other hand, if I posted that entry on my blog and someone came along and decided to write about the same thing they could – like this.

I just got my drivers license, so I decided to go to the field museum. When I was there I was having a constant problem. My picture kept turning out bad because of the reflection of the flash. It suddenly dawned on me that I could take a little piece of gum and place it on the camera and then take a little mirror and stick it on the gum. When the picture was taken the flash would be deflected off of the mirror!

By changing your wording, anyone can totally re-post your idea on their blog without breaking the copyright. 

There are certain things that are protected by copyright, and others that are not.

Included under U.S. Copyright

Literary works;

Musical works, including any accompanying words

Dramatic works, including any accompanying music

Pantomimes and choreographic works

Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

Motion pictures and other audiovisual works

Sound recordings

Architectural works

These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most “compilations” may be registered as “literary works”; maps and architectural plans may be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.”

Not included under U.S. Copyright

Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded).

Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.

Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration.

Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources).

Watch what you post on your blog. If you have a great idea for a book or product don’t post it. You never know who is going to wander onto your blog and steal it, so be careful!

I’ve also opened my Homestead Blogger Again!

Links

My HomeschoolBlogger Blog

My Homestead Blog

My Main Blog

U.S. Copyright Office

 Hey all! Today is Paul Suarez Birthday! So everyone go stop by and wish him a happy one.

 Paul is the son of Paul and Gena Suarez, and they’re the ones who started HSB! You all probably knew that, but go on over, wish him happy birthday, then come back and post comment on my blog entry below!

Blogboy/Eric

We only have a small time to learn. Most of us will probably be married sometime in our  twenties, and then we will leave home. Once we’re living with our wife/husband, we will have to teach ourselves the basics of life – unless, we’ve learned them at home.

Homeschool kids have a big advantage over public school kids. The have a valuable asset. They have time. A public school kid can only have an hour to learn a subject, whereas a homeschool kid can take as long as they like.

The Bible makes it clear that we should try to learn. Take a look that these verses.

The First thing we read in proverbs is that we are made for obtaining wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1: 20 says: “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares.” Wisdom is waiting for you to find her. She wants you to find her! Later in 1:28 it says: “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.”

If we don’t pursue wisdom, then, when we want it, we won’t be able to get it. We need to seek it while we can!

Proverbs 2: 1-11 says, “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD

and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.    

If we listen to our parents, then knowledge will be pleasant to our souls. We will enjoy learning.

I believe that homeschool kids should know these subjects before they leave the home. This is not an exhaustive list.

Guys~Spiritual
Have their own relationship with the Lord
Know how to resolve conflict
Read the Bible Daily and lead in family worship

Practical 

How to start a motor (i.e. chainsaw/lawnmower)

How to cook a basic meal (yes you should know this, what if your wife got sick?)

How to do the laundry
How to Iron

How to manage money

How to pay bills

How to stick with a hard job

Girls~Spiritual

Have their own relationship with the Lord

How to resolve conflict
Read the Bible daily

Practical

Keep a household

How to cook

How to Sew

How to do the laundry

I’ve been writing some rather boring business blogs lately, so I think it’s about time to write about life.

Yesterday Dad and the Girls went to the goodwill, a local thrift store. When they came home they brought me a surprise! A pair of roller blades!

I’ve wanted a pair of roller blades for a while, but size twelve roller blades cost around seventy-five dollars, and I didn’t want to spend that. Dad found the rollerblades for five dollars. When I tried them on, they fit perfectly.

I had never tried rollerblading before so it was a little scary trying to start. I was constantly afraid that I would fall. I went around the house holding on to furniture and trying to keep my balance, which was really hard. After a few minutes my feet started to hurt, so I took my blades off and did something else. Later in the day, when I went outside and tried to skate, I found that it was really hard. I couldn’t move fluently, because I was constantly scared of falling down.

Most Christians are like me on a pair of rollerblades. They lack the confidence to try to save anyone because they’re afraid that they will fail.

I was really scared of falling, until my sisters found the bag of rollerblade protection gear. I donned a pair a wrist/palm guards and went outside to try to skate some more. I was more confident that I wouldn’t get hurt, because I was equipped with protection.

If we get equipped with the Bible verses we need to save another, and learn the ways best to lead another person to the Lord, then we won’t be afraid of failing anymore. I’ve been listening to The Way of The Master radio lately. They are a radio station that bring people to Christ, and equip Christians to do so. I really have been influenced by them and  I even gave out a tract for the first time because of them! They have a conversion method called Hell’s Best Kept Secret, and it really sounds right on. Christians don’t evangelize because they aren’t equipped. Get the information today, and get equipped!           

 I just had to post this great offer from hsb! So check it out!

Spring is almost here and for many homeschoolers, that means time to plan how you're going to wrap up your record-keeping for this year and planning ahead for next year. There's always so much to be done, isn't there?

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I have a nice surprise down at the bottom of this blog, so make sure you read the whole thing.

How do we attract people to Christ? In 1 Corinthians 9: 22-23, Paul says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.”

Paul said that we should become all things to all people. Does this mean that we should dress like the world to save? Talk like the world to save? Act like to world to save the world? No, I don’t believe that’s what he’s saying. Philippians 2:14-16 says: “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

What I believe Paul is trying to say is that we should act like Christians to attract people to Christ. Practice the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control, and you’ll attract more people to Christ than if you act like the world.

John 2: 15 says: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” We should love the people in the world enough to minister to them. We should hate the world enough to not be part of it.

Yesterday and today mom and I made a video for The Girlhood Home Companion. I did all the technical stuff and uploaded it. This video shows a few of the high points of the magazine. The Girlhood comes in two formats, e-book and print edition. Both are full color. So without further delay here is the Girlhood movie!

     The Girlhood is a magazine for girls. Let me re-phrase that. The Girlhood is a magazine for (10-12) to have their mothers read to them, and for young ladies (13 to 18) to read themselves. It’s also for mothers and grandmothers. The Girlhood has something for everyone who is of the Female persuasion. This is a great magazine!

    So I’m going to give you a deal you can’t refuse. I’ll give you the magazine for free, all you need to do is promise that if you like it. you’ll post one of the banners in the post below on your sidebar. All you need to do is e-mail me HERE or post a comment with your e-mail in it, and I’ll send you the latest issue of the Girlhood. If you like it, then you can post a banner on your side bar. If you don’t, then you don’t have to do a thing. Sound like a deal? Just post a comment or E-MAIL me. Now on to the main post.

Every seventeen years a loud buzzing fills the warm summer air. But this year it will be stronger than ever because it’s the 17^th year – the year of the Cicada.

The Cicada really isn’t one of the most fascinating insects in the world; all they do is hatch, breed, and die. But they are a bit thought provoking.

What is the point of the Cicada? They don’t accomplish anything. They don’t even pollinate any plants. They really don’t have a point.

Let’s think a bit. Humans can be a lot like Cicadas, just existing, and not really accomplish anything for Eternity.

For millenniums man has pondered the question, What is the meaning of life? What are we here for? Are we just here to have a good time? Make lots of money? Get famous? Are we just existing?

Only a small number of the mass population will ever know what they are on earth for. Christians have purpose in life – to love and serve God – and  lead others to Christ.

The purpose of the Cicada is to make us think.

Psalm 57: 2

“I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.”

Psalm 138: 8

“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.”

Proverbs 19:21

 “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." 

Receiving Comments 

  One day when I was surfing around the blog, I came across the awful realization that I was missing my full comment potential. I hadn’t really given thought to the matter, until I came across Jocelyn’s blog, where she sported around 25 comments on each entry! Highly agitated by not even having a quarter of that many comments, I immediately contacted her to find out how she got so much feedback. Jocelyn got back to me almost immediately with the secret of her success.

  I’ve always visited around and commented on peoples blogs. Okay, okay. I may not have commented as much as when I first started, but I have been much more active posting comments as I’ve grown with the blog.

  When I talked with Jocelyn she told me her secret: The only way to get more comments is to respond to the comments that you get – and to comment on other people’s blogs. After I tried this, I found it worked! My comments now average 11 per post. The most comments I’ve ever had on one entry was 18.

Blogging Etiquette

• Commenting back
• Leaving your name
• Spelling

Whenever I receive a comment, I make sure I go to the person’s blog and post a comment back. I have two reasons that I do this. First, because it’s polite. Most people don’t comment back often, but personally I think that if they commented back they could make a new friend and get more comments themselves. The second reason I like to comment is because it leads to another person who will then visit and post more feedback!

Leaving Your Name

This has happened so many times. Actually it just happened while I was writing this blog! A person leaves a comment and instead of taking the time to log-in they just type in a name in the anonymous field and leave the comment. As a person adhering to the “commenting back rule,” this is very frustrating. We can’t comment back because there’s no link to comment back, too. We don’t know who posted a comment and we can’t even see what their blog looks like. For people who aren’t registered with HSB, put a link to your blog in the comment. Bottom line, log-in or link.  

I like to read people’s blogs, but I can’t stand when I have to decipher their work. Do yourself and others a big favor. Use a spellchecker! If someone goes on your blog and is greeted by a bunch of misspelled words, they aren’t going to comeback. That goes for the most interesting blogs! People don’t like to have to decipher to read.

The Rebelution Modesty Petition

The other day, my mom found a site with a really amazing purpose. It’s called The Rebelution. I thought a really great part was the Modesty Petition.

“The Modesty Survey Petition below is your opportunity to affirm and commend the following biblical truths surrounding feminine modesty by adding your name to the hundreds of signatures below.

As a Christian guy with a deep appreciation for feminine modesty, I hereby affirm and commend the following biblical truths to my sisters in Christ:

Please, approach the survey as a resource, not a list of rules.

Always honor your parents above the results of the survey. (Ephesians 6:1-3)

Seek personal feedback on your attire from the godly men and women in your life.

Remember, modesty is first and foremost a matter of the heart, not the wardrobe.

Faithfully pursue the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. (1 Peter 3:4)

Let your good works outshine your outward appearance. (1 Timothy 2:10)

Dress for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)”

I signed the petition, you can too.

I said that I would post pictures of the storm, so here they are!

The biggest snow drift, over 4 feet tall.

The snow drift affter the girls got to it.

The drive way, after snow plow.

My New Blog

I’m done designing my new blog! The header picture is of Achill Island, Ireland. I really like this photo, but supposedly that is what most of the Irish coast looks like. I had a new picture taken of myself to put on my blog, but after much speculation on the quality, I decided to ask you what you think. Should I try to get a clearer picture? I couldn’t put a Bible verse generator in my new blog, because it wouldn’t load correctly.      

Music Players

Note: The Player Didn't work in HSB go to my other blog at http://www.ericnovak.com to listen to the songs.

I don’t know if I should add music to my blog. I found a real neat player I like and I think it may work, but do I really want music on my blog? Do I want my readers to sit there playing with my music player instead of reading my entrees? Supposedly adding a voice over to your website increases sales up to 300 percent. But what does adding music do? I would think that it would actually make people not read my entries. I think that I will give the player a try and see what you all think. The player is loaded with Irish songs. For some reason I couldn’t get the titles to show, so the songs are listed in the following order.

1. Aos Dana

2. Fingals Cave

3. Highland Wedding

4. Le Lys Vert

5. Rendezvous

6. Rising of the Moon

My favorites are

Number 2, Number 5, and half of number 4, until the guys start singing.

Early this week (not without evil intentions) I set out to tag five bloggers. I was actually tagged by walkbyfaith, so when I answered my tag, I had to tag some victims (er, um, friends). I carefully picked five bloggers to strike. Then even more carefully, I posted comments telling them the bad news. I had no idea that I would be suffering the consequences of my evil all too soon. The next day I was surprised to see that I had quite a few comments. I was looking through them when I came across a comment by 4evrHischild. She said that she would fill out my tag if I entered her Haiku contest. I didn’t know much about writing Haikus. I didn’t know that they were indescribably hard to evil and went around frying people's brains! So naively, I said, “Sure. Sounds like a deal!” Tonight I had to write my Haiku. It was really hard. It was really brain cooking. All of this to say here is my entry. And here is a link to the contest.

Haiku

Thinking way too hard

I am at a loss for words 

My brain fried. Haiku!

(yes the caterpillars are dead)

A Note on Presidents Day

Some of you may not like the current president. In fact, you may not like the war that he’s fighting in the Middle East. Furthermore, you may not like any of the decisions that he has made. But all the same, you need to realize that he’s the one in authority, the Bible is clear about obeying and praying for your leaders. Here are a few verses.

Romans 13: 1 - 3

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

Hebrews 13: 17

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Check out the NEW blog beneath this one. It’s really important, and I want everyone to read it. Now here is my main blog.

Last week I got an awful punishment. I didn’t do anything wrong, and my mom who gave me the punishment knows I wasn’t misbehaving. The punishment I got was unintentional; my mom told my sister that she had to do the dishes all by herself for a week.

Note: At this moment 11 million children are misbehaving (read that statistic in a book)

If you know anything about me, then you know that I love washing dishes. I’ll get my mp3 player (preferrred over my i-pod), and then I’ll wash the dishes while listening to Irish music or old time radio programs. But when mom gave Elizabeth her punishment, I had a punishment too because I couldn't relax while doing the dishes.

I don’t like all kinds of work. For instance, I don’t like to cut grass or muck out the chicken coop. I do like other kinds of work, though. I don’t mind doing the laundry, and I have a fondness for chopping wood. I’m not a work-a-holic, but it doesn’t bother me to apply myself to some physical labor either. On the other hand, I have a hutch were I store my stuff and currently it looks like a bomb went off in it (I usually straighten it out once a week)!

Today I was so happy because Elizabeth's sentence was fianlly up. We ate breakfast, and I said to mom that I wanted to wash the dishes by myself, but mom said Anna had to wash to give her something productive to do! So Anna washed and I dried. Did I ever tell you I don’t like drying dishes? Well I don’t. The towel gets wet, the dishes don’t dry, and I can’t get my hand into the bottom of the glasses. There is one exception, however. If it’s late at night and the girls are asleep, I’ll dry the dishes so I can wash the rest if there are too many that need to be washed and no room to put them away. Maybe I’ll be able to do the dishes tomorrow - all by myself! I can’t wait to have some fun.

I was tagged by walkbyfaith

FIVE THINGS YOU CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF: (Wow most of this category was already filled out!)

1. Narnia

2. Books

3. Music

4. The Bible

5. Fun 

FIVE THINGS YOU REALLY DON’T WANT AND WISH YOU DIDN’T HAVE:

1. A dryer that isn't working that great, but isn't bad enough to replace 

2. Library fines

3. A bad computer chair

4. Chores that I don’t like 

5. Not having a lot of snow

FIVE FAVORITE BIBLE VERSES:

1. Isaiah 45:9 -10

2. 2 Samuel 22: 33-34

3. Proverbs 3: 21

4. 1 chronicles 22: 12

5. John 3: 16

FIVE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO THIS YEAR:

1. Get my driver's permit

2. Finish my speech bronze speech manual 

3. Get at least halfway through the next manual

4. Get some more paying web design customers 

5. Deepen my relationship with God 

FIVE PEOPLE YOU WANT TO TAG:

1. BookFreak

2. 4evrHischild

3. krisjacob

4. funkyleo

5. ByHisGraceInColorado

When you were a kid you probably had some phobias – scared of the dark, scared of being alone, scared of your own shadow. But now that you’re older, you probably don't have those paticular ones anymore. Now, there are different things to be scared of. The only way to get over your fears are to take them to Jesus.

I'm not Irish. Yes, I know that my blog is Irish-themed, but I'm sorry to say
I'm not Irish. My bloodlines show that I'm Czechoslovakian and Lithuanian. But I won't talk about my bloodlines... I'll talk about how much I like Irish music!

I originally liked cowboy music. I loved the Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers. There was one problem however; it was hard to get their music. So soon, with the influence of a horse barn I volunteered at, I started to listen to County music.

County had a few good songs but most of them were bad. Then one day when I
didn't feel like listening to country I borrowed my sister's long-not-used Irish Tenors CD. I listened to it and soon I was singing all of the songs. After I got started with the Irish Tenors I quickly found the Irish folk section at the library. My county music went in the trash can.

Why do I like Irish music so much? First, I like the place it comes from. Ireland has so many stories behind it. The interments add a haunting note to the music, making it sound like something from the past. I also like the jigs and reels that were used traditionally for dances. Here is a clip from one of my favorite songs, The Butterfly 

1.What I did for my birthday

2. A spiritual metaphor that I came up with

3. And tagged by 4evrhischild

What I did for my birthday.

We were supposed to go up to our landlady’s house for my party, but she lost her contacts and had to order a new pair. She couldn’t see well with her old glasses on, so   we went up to her house instead and got the cake she bought and brought it down to our house. If you want to know what kind it was, it was cheese cake (my favorite). For linner (lunch and dinner) we ordered from some Monte Cristo sandwiches from Bennigan's (also my favorite). Mom and Dad gave me a skate board and some new ice skates. My sister’s present is coming in the mail, so I don’t know what it is yet.

A Spiritual Metaphor by me.     

When we go outside in the daytime, we don’t need to use a flashlight. But, when it gets dark out, that flash light comes in really handy. God is our light. When we are in normal circumstances (daylight), we don’t really think about Him. We put Him in the back of our minds. God allows negative circumstances (the darkness) to remind us that He’s there. Then we have to use Him as our light.

Psalm 18:28 “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Darkness is associated with death, failure, suffering, folly, and sin. Light is associated with life, salvation, prosperity, wisdom, and justice.

Tagged by 4evrhischild

4evrhischild tagged me with “7 weird things about myself.” That’s probably not that hard.

1. I like washing dishes! I know not every 16 year old boy likes washing dishes, but I do!
2. I’m 6’4” – really tall in other words. I think I’m getting tired of everyone saying that I’m tall. It’s getting hard to play hide-and-go-seek.
3. I’ve had a raccoon.
4. I impersonate animals i.e. raccoons, goats, mice, and geese.
5. Before my voice changed, I could yodel really well!
6. I do the laundry, and don’t really mind it.
7. I have a crazy mom. She said I could say that (see).     

 Testimonials

“We have received the back issues of The GHC and my husband has even printed off the first magazine already. My Sarah is sitting on the couch right now reading it and is already blessed by the VERY first thing she read on the first page on the first magazine.....something she could really relate to. Thank you so much! They are going to be a real blessing. We love your book The Gift of Family Writing and have begun our own journals now.” 

“My daughter and I are just thrilled with GHC! What a treasure it is for us! Many, many blessings on this great labor of love!”

 “I am so grateful to have a woman like you to influence my life and to model the joy and beauty of a simple and quiet life centered on family and free of so many of the chaotic elements of our society – you truly model that home is where the heart is.”

Links

If you are a friend of my blog then you can get the full December issue for free! Just E-mail me here with your blog link and I’ll send it to you!

If you have an article or story about beauty, manners, words of wisdom, faith, homemaking, hospitality or anything else that Christian girls would be interested in, please feel free it here!

Edit: I posted a new blog, you have to be my friend and logged in to view it though.

I really didn’t give much thought to the authors behind books until yesterday when I was reading Jack’s Life by Douglas Gresham. It’s a wonderfully crafted book about C.S. Lewis’s life. Anyhow I was reading it when I realized that Mr. Gresham was the one who wrote that book! I’m reading the book he wrote, he worked on that book for months, putting what he knew of his stepfather onto paper. I really wanted to meet Douglas Gresham last year when he was at willow creek church only about ten minutes away from us. The problem was that I didn’t know he was going to be there until a day after he was there. Last night as I read his book, I started to know him from his writing; I met him through his book. I’ll never get the chance to meet C.S. Lewis but I’ll always know him through his books.

It’s the same thing in the Bible. God inspired the writers, they wrote when He gave them and that’s what we have today. We meet God through His book, and we know that He exists because He made those words. Isn’t that neat? God wrote the bible with us in His mind. He wrote it knowing that I would read it, knowing that you would read it. God wrote the Bible and dedicated it to you.

Blogboy

P.S. Jocelyn is having a contest on her blog. Check it out here.

Ok, it's two days after Christmas and I said I would post a day after Christmas, so I'm going to make up for the one day lag with some good content. I don't usually post pictures, it takes too much work. But I've made an exception... here are two pictures!

Here is a Picture of my Narnia Collection. I started it in early 2005 and
it's grown to 83 pieces! The highlights are Peter's Sword (I got that for
Christmas), the Focus on the Family Narnia CD's (I got those for Christmas too), and my first edition Horse and his Boy book.



On Christmas day my mom took the picture of me. It's a bit dark, but an ok picture.

 I just received a mystery comment from an unknown visitor! I will do my best to answer their questions, but first we should see the evidence. Here is the comment: 

Posted by Anonymous

Two questions before I ask permission to add you....

Ok, first-if I may be so bold-how old are you? Second-why do you call your blog "The Voice of Experience?" Because I know you're not an adult-or you would not have 'BlogBOY' as your username. But you seem to be knowledgeable beyond the usual 'kid'-so are you a teenager?

By the way, thank you for writing that Narnia post!

God Bless!

Mariel

I am just a normal fifteen year old home school student. A while ago my profile got messed up and my age was turned to 85! This led to doubts about me really being a teen homeschooler. I assure you that I am indeed a young adult. If you still don’t believe me then you can ask my mom! Her blog is here.

  My blog name is a funny coincidence. My mom was writing a book and wanted to mention my blog in it. I, was not ready for her to publish my blog as “the title goes here.” So I had to come up with a name fast. I offered a contest on my blog. The prize was a free e-book for the person who came up with the best blog title. Only Superangel responded. When I visited her blog I came across a link to Spunkyhomeschool’s blog. I went there and found an entry called The Voice of Experience. I decided to use that title for my web log title.

Everyone has knowledge about something. I may know more about computers then someone or I could know more about Narnia then someone else. You could know more about Lord of the Rings or math… Everyone has something to share, they share their experience. God has enabled me to write. I will use that gift for Him.

I hope this answers your questions.

Blogboy

We have strange habits around our house. My mom and sisters are naturalists, so they’re always are studying animal life. They love to bring mice inside, put them in aquariums, and watch to see what they will do. Once in a while one of these creatures will escape and then we live in terror that it will crawl in our mouths while we are sleeping. Just recently we had a rare occasion. One of the cats caught a chipmunk. Before he beheaded it, my sisters rescued it and brought it in the house for close surveillance. The chipmunk lived in the old aquarium for a few weeks and then one day when mom was giving him water, he escaped! We brought all five cats inside, but nothing could be done. The chipmunk went into hiding and the cats were just plain lazy. Now what do you do when a cat won’t mouse or in this case chipmunk? There is nothing to do. You can lock a cat in a closet full of mice, but you can’t make him eat them. We all know that cats are fickle, conceded things, and if you told them not to eat the mice they would.

  A few days after the chipmunks escaped, we found a family of mice. They where deposited in the aquarium along with a few toilet paper tubes and cardboard boxes. A few days later I found another mouse, as I was putting him in the cage he jumped for freedom and ran down behind the washing machine. Now we had a loose chipmunk and a loose mouse. As usual the cats slept around on baskets of laundry and did nothing.

  A few years back one of our cats disappeared. We figured that he moved to a ritzy subdivision close by. Dad always jokes, saying, “That cat is probably eating better then me! It’s probably eating steak!”

  In America we like to pamper our pets. Foreigners say we’re fat. They should take a look at our cats! In the year 2005 people spent nearly 37 billion dollars on there pets.  Even people that are allergic to cats can buy a genetically engineered non-allergic cat (Allerca) for only $4000.00 dollars!

  We spend too much on our cats. A bag of cat food costs ten dollars. We buy two bags each month and that comes to $240.00 a year! The cats don’t do the job they’re supposed to. It would be much cheaper to buy mouse traps. As a note it took our cats five days to catch the chipmunk and the mouse.

Tele-Transportation would be great- no pollution, no traffic jams, no waiting in line at the grocery store. Life would be a lot better. Tele-Transportation is where molecules that make up your body are transported via airwaves to another location were they are reassembled. Anyone who watched Star-Trek probably knows what I’m talking about. So if Tele-Transportation is so great why will it not work? What will prevent it from happening, eventually? If someone invented Tele-Transportation it would create a huge economic collapse. A great deal of trade in the world is based on oil. Cars run on oil or gas. If we had Tele-Transportation then the need for oil would be basically gone, creating a crash and a bunch of people that would really want to get there hands on the inventor. So the bottom line is Tele-Transportation will never be created and we will have to keep our pollution.

Blogboy

I could try to get away with just posting the tag that I received for today, but I think that it would be rather dull to read. No one wants to read something boring. So I really should write something interesting. I guess that I’ll write about the wood pile.

Everard Hinrichs once wrote:

The heft and the feel of a well worn handle,

The sight of shavings that curl from a blade;

The logs in the woodpile, the sentiment of huge

                               Beams in an old-fashioned house;

The smell of fresh cut timber and the pungent

                                   Fragrance of burning leaves;

The crackle of kindling and the hiss of burning logs.

Abundant to all the needs of man, how poor the world

                               Would be

Without wood.

There is a sense of satisfaction one gets from looking at his wood pile. Last year, I didn’t want to split wood. I just hated to go outside and spend hours pounding on chunks of wood. I was using a 5 pound hammer and a wedge called a wood bomb. It took me about half an hour to split a large log into pieces that would fit in our fire place. Finally I told my dad that he would have to get me better tools if he wanted me to split wood. He came home with a ten pound maul and ten pound sledge hammer… Splitting wood was easier, but I still didn’t like it.

  Grass cutting isn’t a favorite of mine either. You probably don’t understand. Our lawn is not your normal half an acre. It’s big; it’s actually about four acres big. It only took me about five hours to mow it. Then the self propelled broke. Now by the time I finish mowing the lawn, I have to start back at the beginning again!

  When I came home from vacation it was already fall and I haven’t mowed since, but it’s time to split wood again. I grew since last year. Now, I’m pushing six foot three. I also gained muscle mass, I can easily pull my 50 pound bow. So when I went to split wood for the first time, I split twenty wheelbarrows in two days. I broke our maul a few days ago, and dad had to get a new one.  I like chopping wood a ton better then mowing the lawn.

1. Where would you live in Narnia?

By the stone table. It has such romantic setting via this concept art

http://www.narniaweb.com/gallery.asp?img=446

and this

2. Which item would you like? A healing cordial, a bow and arrow and horn, or a sword and shield?

All of the weapons are for destruction. The only two things that aren�ft, are the horn and the cordial. The horn would be great if you were frequently in danger. But it�fs for you, there�fs not much good you can do with it. The healing cordial or the juice of the fireflower has a lot more practical use. Think of all the people you could heal with the cordial.     

3. Who would you want as your brother or sister, Lucy, Edmund, Susan, or Peter?

I would have Peter for a brother. The only reason for this is that I have three sisters and no brothers. I�fve always wanted a brother.

4. If you were King or Queen of Narnia what would your name be? Example„Ÿ King Edmund the just.

It would probably have something to do with my name. So I would most likely be „Ÿ King Eric the Mighty (since my name means strong and mighty). Or it would have to do with something I did, like King Eric the Blogger!   

5. What is your Favorite Narnia creature?

Aslan.

6. Who is your favorite Narnia hero?

Aslan.

7. What is your favorite Narnia scene?

Aslan. Oops! I mean I really like when Lucy first finds the wardrobe.

8. What is your favorite Narnia book?

The Magician�fs Nephew   

9. Who are you going to tag?

Alaska0girl (just kidding). I will tag JoeM, dogalways524 and Jocelyndixon.  

What did we ever do in B.B. or before the blog? The world was probably a less stressful, and I’m sure that we didn’t have an insatiable need to write. Every day I feel compelled to write. I have to write. If I don’t, then you won’t be able to read my blog. It’s a lose lose relationship. I could write all my life…and still I would have the need to write!
    What is the deal with these blank pages anyway? Why did Word geeks have to give us a blank page to stare at? They just want you to feel like you haven’t written anything. They could have pre-typed sentences in Latin and then you would feel like you’ve accomplished something. But, no they want you to do all of the work, and they want to be the ones with the full pages and all of the good words! I would suggest that we all boycott type programs – such as Word or Type Pad. I know! I can write a story about how all of the type program companies are supporting terrorism then we can all boycott them!

Blogboy 

My mom had me read a book entitled If You Can Talk You Can Write by Joel Saltzman. I didn’t think I would like it, but the writing was pretty interesting, and I was through the book in no time. In one of the last chapters there was a fun exercise. Here’s how you do it. Get a dictionary, close your eyes, and open the book. Point to a word and then write a small blurb on that word. Just write what ever comes into your head. No cheating! Use the word that you get. Here are a few that I wrote…

                                                           Milkshake

A milkshake makes me happy. I love milkshakes. They taste good! I can get them at home or at McDonalds or at Burger King. The best milkshakes come from Steak and Shake. I can get a “Side by Side” milkshake or a large “Oreo” milkshake. Those are cool. In fact, milkshakes are cool – they’re cold. On a hot day I like a milkshake – a cool one.

                                                           Shuffle

In England they all play shuffle. Old people play shuffle and they shuffle. If I were an old person I would not play shuffle. It’s bad for your health. Doctors have proven that to shuffle, it takes a stick. So you might as well apply for a handicap license. Don’t ask me why you should. Talk to your doctor.

                                                           Port

Port is the side of a ship. It is the side of the Titanic. The port is at the bottom of the sea. Port is also a very bad thing. It is a drink that they serve in the movies. They say “Pass me the port, James.” James says, “You’ve had enough, Sir.” James gets sacked and has to go to the harbor to find work. Harbor is another port.

“Here, Blackie! Here, Whitey…Orangey, Mottled, Calico! And last but not least, come here Simon Alexander Randolph Honey Kins!”
    That’s what it’s like around here with two little sisters. All the animals are named what they want them to be named! Okay, okay, we don’t really have any of those names except a rabbit named Blackie. Our pet raccoon is named Popsicle or Loper. I just call him Coon-a-kins. We also have goats. One is named Mountain – for the mountain shaped white spot on his side. The other is named Backwards C – for the obvious reason; he has a white backwards C on his side. When the girls grow up, I’m sure they’ll name their kids Baldy, Brownie or maybe even Blackie (for obvious reasons)!

Blogboy           

If anyone has signed up for e-mail updates for my blog, the please do so again. Use the box on the sidebar.  

  Have you ever felt like you¡¯ve been outmatched, ten to one? I know that most home schoolers don¡¯t have a problem with bullies and nether do I; I¡¯ve just been outmatched ©¤ writing wise.

   There are three fantasy writers that I really, really adore. The first is C.S. Lewis author of The Chronicles of Narnia. I like Lewis because of his amazingly free writing style. He could write about the most complicated plots, making them easy to comprehend; and take ordinary situations and make them come alive. It¡¯s so amazing to read his books and feel that there is another world out there ¨C there is a Narnia!

   Next on my list is a more recent author, Cornelia Funke. She has written a few books that I really enjoy. She wrote Inkheart and the sequel Inkspell. She also wrote The Thief Lord and Dragon Rider. Her writing voice is different from Lewis¡¯s, actually more descriptive like Tolken. Cornelia¡¯s writing flows together and forms the most beautiful pictures you can imagine.

   J. R.R.Tolkien was also a great fantasy writer. I prefer Lord of the Rings to the rest of his stories which are too complicated and dense to read. He is still a much better writer then I am. I think that he could have made his story a little shorter, but everyone seems to like it, so I won¡¯t complain.

This was the list of fantasy writers that I adore.

Blogboy

I know that I wrote about this subject two times since May, 2005. You may think that it’s a little too much, but age discrimination just keeps popping up! Last night I got on a really neat site about money called fool.com. I went on the teens and money section and read all kinds of articles encouraging teens to get into stocks and saving money. Then I followed a link for getting stocks online. I tried to sign up, but then it struck! You have to be 18 years or older to get an account! You can read my other blogs about age discrimination here and here, but this blog is just about incidents that have recently happened to me.
    The next thing that really made me mad is a Disney contest that is going on right now. If you win, you get to go to the making of the new Prince Caspian movie. The only catch is that you have to be 18 years or older!!! I’m only 15, so I can’t enter. I love Narnia! I am a huge Narnia fan! Why can’t I enter then? You can find information about this contest here, but only if you’re over 18. Let’s keep juv-en-iles, JUVENILE!

When was the last time you brushed your teeth?

This morning

What do your teeth usually look like?

Like teeth

What book do you like to read over and over?

Any Narnia books!

How many times do you crack your neck?

What is cracking your neck?

What’s your favorite logo?

I don’t do logo’s

How many times have you been on an air plane?  

None

What were you wearing this day last week?  

Probably cloths *wink*

When was the last time you ate peanut butter?

Two days ago

Do you like the Charlie and the chocolate factory with jonny depp?

NO!

What is your fav. Exercise?

I don’t have one

Do you like this tag?

No.

Ever considered living in a hobbit hole in new Zealand?

Actually yes!  

What are you obsessed with?

Narnia!

How many times a day do you check your e mail?

Three

Finish this sentence ''they are taking the...

“ice-cream?”

Why did you answer it that way?

It was the first thing that came to mind 

What is the first thing you think of in the morning?   

Reading my bible

What is your fav. Super hero besides Jesus?   None

go to the person who tagged you and leave them two different comments on two different posts.

WHAT??? Ok, ok….

How do you like better jack sparro or will turner?

I haven’t watched that movie…

What are three of your future children’s names?

The butcher, the baker, and the candle stick maker.

.

How would you describe your self?

Read my blog.

Pick a word you use most often.

And

Tag three people and have them put it on there blog.  

Ok

Libraries
    Today we went to one of the libraries that are fortunate enough not to be plagued with our patronage. I checked my card to see if it had any fines on it, and sure enough I was whopped with a bill for twelve dollars and ninety-eight cents from 2002 (half of them caused by a lost Clifford the Dog book). Obviously I don’t read Clifford books anymore, so it must have been my sister’s fault. Why I checked it out in the first place, I shall never know. I probably did know, but that was WAY back in 2002, and who would expect me to remember those days?

Good Books

    Okay, now that I have covered library matters, we can move on to really good books. First on my list is a non-fiction book The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer. This is an amazingly good book, about a  child that is abused and is taken away from his parents. It is very depressing, but so good that you won’t be able to stop reading it, even if you are crying!

    The next book is a work of fiction by Joshua Mowll entitled Operation Red Jericho. It’s a story about two teens who stumble across their Uncle’s secrets and a mysterious organization. This book was so fascinating that I stayed up until 2:30 AM, reading the entire thing in one sitting!

Strange People

    When I was at the library there was a lady going through the DVD’s, voicing a running commentary about each one to her friend. She pulled out a movie, saying that she really should get it, but that it wasn’t the best movie she had ever seen. After she put it back, I reached over and took it off the shelf, thinking that it was a movie I had heard of and wanted to watch. This sent the lady into hysterics. She thought it was so funny that I wanted to take the movie SHE was talking about. I told her that it actually wasn’t the movie I was looking for. I wanted a movie called 8 Below, which is about some huskies that are stranded in the Alaskan wilderness. She had no clue what I was talking about…I found my movie and hastily exited the scene.  

    We gave my mom a humming bird feeder and a bottle of humming bird nectar for Mother’s Day. Just recently, we put the feeder up and mom stored the bottle of pink dyed sugar water in the kitchen cabinet. When I reached in the cabinet for a glass yesterday, I felt a pool of humming bird nectar. If you’ve ever stuck your hand into honey, then you know the feeling.

    What’s in your kitchen? The Chicago Sun Times ran an article about celebrity’s kitchens. One of the questions was “What’s the oldest thing in your refrigerator?” Laura Caldwell said, “A spray bottle of ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter.’ It’s possible I’ve moved this from household to household, and it dates back to 1987!”

    Marianne Murciano and Bob Sirott said, “A bright green jar of ‘Fluky’s sweet relish,’ that looks like kryptonite. Of course it belongs to Bob. The bottle says ‘since 1929 Chicago,’ which is when I think he bought it!”

    One time I found a pair of socks in the kitchen sink! Nobody owned up to that. In case you want to know, the humming bird nectar tasted like extremely watered down sugar-water. I had tasted it before the cabinet incident because it looks just like Hawaiian punch. It sure doesn’t taste like it, though. Needless to say, I didn’t lick my fingers!

                         Mahmoud Ahmadinejad                           Hugo Chavez

This is kind of an old story. It happened on the 15^th of July, but some of you may still find it interesting.

It’s almost everyone’s dream to swim underwater without cumbersome diving tanks. Who wouldn’t want to go swimming and just stay under the water without surfacing for air or lugging around heavy diving apparatus? Soon people may be able to swim like fish.

Alon Bodner, of Israel, has dreamt about breathing underwater just like everyone else. He could only imagine what it would be like to dive hours on end without resurfacing. But, unlike the rest of us, Bodner made his dream come true by inventing a one-of-a-kind underwater breathing apparatuses. The system developed by Bodner uses a physical law called the "Henry Law" which describes gas absorption in liquids. This law states that the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid body is proportional to the pressure on the liquid body. The law works in both directions, lowering the pressure will release more gas out of the liquid. This is done by a centrifuge which rotates rapidly, thus creating under pressure inside a small sealed chamber containing sea water. The system will be powered by rechargeable batteries. Calculations showed that a one kilo Lithium battery can provide a diver with about one hour of diving time. Here is a transcript of an interview with Bodner from www.isracast.com.

“Question: We are speaking now with engineer Alon Bodner. First of all I have to tell you that since we put up your report on IsraCast, we have been inundated with literally millions of people going into our website to find out about your invention. Just where did you get the idea sir?

Bodner: My seven years old son, Aviv, asked me some questions about the possibility of diving without tanks, maybe he was inspired by a Star Wars' movie, and then the wheels in my head started spinning. I knew that there is dissolved air in the water and that the fish breath this air so I thought, with all the technology in the world, why couldn't we also do it?

Question: But just how practical is your idea, have you actually tried to run through this prototype in a pool or that kind of thing?

Bodner: I call it a lab model it's not yet a prototype, it's in an aquarium which has a pump, a centrifuge, some hoses and a balloon, we cannot take it into the water yet, into the sea, but we tried it out with water and we saw that in principle it works.

Question: In principle it works. We've been getting inquiries from people all around the world, some are asking what about the quantity, the large quantities of water that might have to be processed in order to get an adequate amount of oxygen for a diver?

Bodner: I want to distinguish between open diving systems and closed diving systems. Usually when you go sports diving it's with open systems and this means that you inhale air from a tank and you exhale it into the water, and this requires a very large quantity of air. With closed systems, such as with breathers for individual divers or submarines or maybe in the future underwater habitats, the required water flow is much smaller, so this device is very suitable.

Question: In other words, it could be a portable apparatus?

Bodner: It is supposed to be a portable apparatus, yes.

Question: And when you speak of underwater habitats, just what do you have in mind?

Bodner: Well right now there exists several underwater habitats especially for research, off the coast of Florida there is one. It's like a Spacelab in the past, in which a few scientists live 10-20 meters underwater, they breath from compressed tanks and perform experiments. In the future, you can have a whole city or many people under a glass dome and breathing air straight from this device.

Question: What about the scientific community, have you yourself been approached by scientists and so forth?

Bodner: Well I have, a few people do not understand the concept, they assume that I separate oxygen from the water and they say correctly that it is toxic below a depth of seven meters and then they ask some technical questions. In this case I want to say again, the device can extract air from the water. It is dissolved air which contains oxygen and nitrogen and so on. It does not extract oxygen from hydrogen.

Question: And what are some of the technical problems that you have to overcome at this stage?

Bodner: The main concerns are the power of the batteries I suppose and the water flow. The batteries are evolving in a very good rate and we don't expect any problems right now. As I said the water flow can be a problem, especially if using open systems, if you want I can elaborate better calculations.

Question: If you could, please.

Bodner: The calculation is quite different for open or closed systems; I'll start with the calculations for open systems. A diver can consume about 25 liters per minute of air at the surface. Assuming that there's about 2 percent of dissolved air in the water, the calculations show the water flow requirement of 1,250 liters per minute. As you go deeper your lungs require more air. At 10 meters depth the air and water flow requirement is double than that on the surface so that means that you will need 2,500 litters per minute of water, and this is a lot. For closed systems, the calculation is different. In these systems the air is re-circulated and returned to the diver after the carbon dioxide is removed. For this case we calculate the oxygen consumption rate and not the air consumption rate as before. Say a diver consumes one liter per minute of oxygen, and unlike the above calculation your body requires the same amount of oxygen at all depths. So, assume there is about half a percent of dissolved oxygen in the water, this result in the water flow requirement of only 200 liters per minute at all depths, which is not too bad, and we can make a compact machine for this.

Question: Engineer Bodner, you are a diver yourself?

Bodner: Yes, lately I dive mainly in the Red Sea in Eilat and in the Mediterranean Sea, in the past I also dived in the Bahamas and off California.

Question: So you can be a guinea pig for your own invention now?

Bodner: I'd love to, but there are also many other volunteers, I get lots of e-mail from people all over the world who want to volunteer, to be among the first to use the systems.

Question: OK, let's go to the big question now. How long do you estimate that it might take before your remarkable invention actually goes on the market, becomes marketable, in a finished product?

Bodner: I expect the complete work the complete working prototype in about two years; this is provided if I get more funding, a commercial product will be ready shortly thereafter.

Question: Well, what can we say, perhaps when the Wright brothers talked about people flying like birds in the air, you're following in their footsteps and talking about people that can swim like fish in the sea.

Bodner: Well I hope so but it's too early still to compare me with the Wright brothers but I appreciate the comparison.

Question: Have you had approaches from manufacturing companies and so forth?

Bodner: I have but the discussions are still at early stages so of course I cannot divulge which names I'm speaking to.”

I’ve been fixing up my blog now and its time to do some explaining about all the new stuff.

1. Due to some mix-ups last month, I accidentally deleted my description and in a rush to get things going again I just threw up a small, temporary description. Now you can read a full one again!
2. Next, I have a poll. Please vote here then push the button above that says “E-mail me” and tell me the reason why you like your choice over the other two. Next week I will post the results and what everyone said.
3. Now we come to the banners! All of the graphics on the sidebar are made by me. I just like Narnia so I made them for fun. Talking about Narnia, if anyone has a question about it or C.S. Lewis you can just ask me in a comment or e-mail. The Narnia doctor is almost always in!    

 If you’re a dad, go tell a child you yelled at that you're sorry. You only have your kids for a short time. If you’re a mom say the art work is beautiful, ignore the mess. You only have your kids for a short time. If you’re a brother or sister then appreciate those siblings! He's not a bother, he's your BROTHER (or sister…)

God bless,

    Eric   

My Mom found this online and I wanted to share it with all of you.

________________________________________________________________________

Planned Parenthood Celebration Jolted by Abortion Survivor

I want to share with you an awesome experience I had in the Colorado House of Representatives on May 8. It is a humbling experience to look back and realize that God used me to play a role in His divine orchestration.

I was leaving the House chambers for the weekend when our Democrat speaker of the House announced that the coming Monday would be the final day of this year's General Assembly. He went on to state that there were still numerous resolutions on the calendar which we would need to be addressed prior to the summer adjournment. Interestingly, he specifically mentioned that one of the resolutions we would be hearing was being carried by the House Majority Leader Alice Madden, honoring the 90th anniversary of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

As a strong pro-life legislator I was disgusted by the idea that we would pass a resolution honoring this 90-year legacy of genocide. I drove home that night wondering what I could say that might pierce the darkness during the debate on this heinous resolution.

On Saturday morning, I took my 8-year-old son up to the mountains to go white-water rafting. The trip lasted all day. As we were driving home, exhausted and hungry, I remembered that I had accepted an invitation to attend a fundraising dinner that night for a local pro-life organization. One of my most respected mentors had personally called me several weeks earlier and asked me to attend, so I knew I'd have to clean up and head over.

After our meal, the executive director of the organization introduced the keynote speaker. I looked up and saw walking to the stage a handicapped young lady being assisted to the microphone by a young man holding a guitar.

Her name was Gianna Jessen.

Gianna said "Hello," welcomed everyone, and then sang three of the most beautiful Christian songs I have ever heard.

She then began to give her testimony. When her biological mother was 17 years old and seven and a half months pregnant, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to have an abortion. As God would have it, the abortion failed and a beautiful 2-pound baby girl was brought into the world. Unfortunately, she was born with cerebral palsy and the doctors thought that she would never survive. The doctors were wrong.

Imagine the timing! A survivor of a Planned Parenthood abortion arrived in town just days before the Colorado House of Representatives was to celebrate Planned Parenthood's "wonderful" work.

As I listened to Gianna's amazing testimony, the Lord inspired me to ask her if she could stay in Denver until Monday morning so that I could introduce her on the floor of the House and tell her story. Perhaps she could even begin the final day's session by singing our country's national anthem!

To my surprise she said she would seriously consider it. If she were to agree, she wanted her accompanying guitarist to stay as well. A lady standing in line behind me waiting to meet Gianna overheard our conversation and said that she would be willing to pay for the guitarist's room. Gianna then said that she would think about it.

As I was driving home from the banquet, my cell phone rang. It was Gianna, and she immediately said, "I'm in, let's ruin this celebration." Praise God!

When Monday morning came, I awoke at 6 a.m. to write my speech before heading to the Capitol. As I wrote down the words, I could sense God's help and I knew that this was going to be a powerful moment for the pro-life movement.

Following a committee hearing, I rushed into the House chambers just as the opening morning prayer was about to be given. Between the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, I wrote a quick note to the speaker of the House explaining that Gianna is an advocate for cerebral palsy. I took the note to the speaker and asked if I could have my friend open the last day of session by singing the national anthem. Without any hesitation the speaker took the microphone and said, "Before we begin, Representative Harvey has made available for us Gianna Jessen to sing the national anthem."

Gianna sang the most amazing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner that you could possibly imagine. Every person in the entire chamber was completely still, quiet and in awe of this frail young lady's voice.

Due to her cerebral palsy, Gianna often loses her balance, and shortly after starting to sing she grabbed my arm to stabilize herself, and I could tell that she was shaking. Suddenly, midway through the song, she forgot the words and began to hum and then said, "Please forgive me; I am so nervous." She then immediately began singing again and every House member and every guest throughout the chambers began to sing along with her to give her encouragement and to lift her up.

As I looked around the huge hall I listened to the unbelievable melody of Gianna's voice being accompanied by a choir of over 100 voices. I had chills running all over my body, and I knew that I had just witnessed an act of God.

As the song concluded the speaker of the House explained that Gianna has cerebral palsy and is an activist to bring awareness to the disease. "Let us give her a hand not only for her performance today, but also for her advocacy work," he said. The chamber immediately exploded into applause — she had them all in the palm of her hand.

The speaker then called the House to order, and we proceeded as usual to allow members to make any announcements or introductions of guests. For dramatic effect, I waited until I was the last person remaining before I introduced Gianna.

As I waited for my turn, I nervously paced back and forth praying to God that he would give me the peace, confidence and the courage necessary to pull off what I knew would be one of the most dramatic and controversial moments of my political career.

While I waited, a prominent reporter from one of the major Denver newspapers walked over to Gianna and told her that her rendition captured the spirit of the national anthem more powerfully than any she had ever heard before.

Finally, I was the last person remaining. So, I proceeded to the microphone and began my speech.

"Members, I would like to introduce you to a new friend and hero of mine — her name is Gianna Jessen. She is visiting us today from Nashville, Tennessee, where she is an accomplished recording artist.

"She has cerebral palsy and was raised in foster homes before being adopted at the age of four.

"She was born prematurely and weighed only 2 pounds at birth. She remained in the hospital for almost three months. A doctor once said she had a great will to live and that she fought for her life. Eventually she was able to leave the hospital and be placed in foster care.

"Because of her cerebral palsy, her foster mother was told that it was doubtful that she would ever crawl or walk. She could not sit up independently. Through the prayers and dedication of her foster mother, she eventually learned to sit up, crawl, then stand. Shortly before her fourth birthday, she began to walk with leg braces and a walker.

"She continued in physical therapy and after a total of four surgeries, she was able to walk without assistance.

"She still falls sometimes, but she says she has learned how to fall gracefully after falling for 29 years.

"Two years ago, she walked into a local health club and said she wanted a private trainer. At the time her legs could not lift 30 pounds. Today she can leg press 200 pounds.

"She became so physically fit that she began running marathons to raise money and awareness for cerebral palsy. She just returned last week from England where she ran in the London Marathon. It took her more than eight-and-a-half hours to complete. They were taking down the course by the time she made it to the finish line. But she made it, nonetheless. With bloody feet and aching joints, she finished the race.

"Members would you help me recognize a modern-day hero — Gianna Jessen?"

At this point the chamber exploded into applause which lasted for 15-to-20 seconds. Gianna had touched their souls.

Ironically, Alice Madden, the majority leader and sponsor of the Planned Parenthood resolution, walked over to Gianna and congratulated her.

As the applause began to die down, I raised my hand to be recognized one more time.

"Mr. Speaker, members, if you would allow me just a few more moments I would appreciate your time.

"My name is Ted Harvey, not Paul Harvey, but, please, let me tell you the rest of the story.

"The cause of Gianna's cerebral palsy is not because of some biological freak of nature, but rather the choice of her mother.

"You see when her biological mother was 17-years-old and 7-and-a-half months pregnant, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to seek a late-term abortion. The abortionist performed a saline abortion on this 17-year-old girl. This procedure requires the injection of a high concentration of saline into the mother's womb, which the fetus is then bathed in and swallows, which results in the fetus being burned to death, inside and out. Within 24 hours the results are normally an induced, still-born abortion.

"As Gianna can testify, the procedure is not always 100 percent effective. Gianna is an aborted late-term fetus who was born alive. The high concentration of saline in the womb for 24 hours resulted in a lack of oxygen to her brain and is the cause of her cerebral palsy.

"Members, today, we are going to recognize the 90th anniversary of Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood…"

BANG! The gavel came down.

Just as I was finishing the last sentence of my speech — the climax of the morning — the speaker of the House gaveled me down and said, "Representative Harvey, I will allow you to continue your introduction, but not for the purposes of debating a measure now pending before the House."

At which point I said,

"Mr. Speaker, I understand. I just wanted to put a face to what we are celebrating today."

Silence.

Deafening silence.

I then walked back to my chair shaking like a leaf. The Democrats wouldn't look at me. They were fuming. It was beautiful. I have been in the Legislature for five tough years, and this made it all worthwhile.

The House majority leader wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day.

Was it because I introduced an abortion survivor, or was it because we touched her soul? She could congratulate an inspirational cerebral palsy victim and advocate, but was outraged when she discovered that the person she congratulated was also an abortion survivor.

The headline in The Denver Post the next day read "Abortion Jab Earns Rebuke." The majority leader is quoted as saying, "I think it was amazingly rude to use a human being as an example of his personal politics."

Yes, Representative Madden, Gianna Jessen is a human being. She was when she was in her mother's womb, and she was when she sang the national anthem on the floor of the Colorado House of Representatives.

The paper went on to quote Gianna, stating she was glad I told her story.

"We need to discuss the humanity of it. I'm glad to be able to speak up for children in the womb," she said. "If abortion is about women's rights, where were my rights?"

All I can say is, "Glory to God!" He orchestrated it all, every minute of it, and I was so honored to have been chosen to play a part. May we all continue to be filled with and to fight for the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Ted Harvey. "Planned Parenthood Celebration Jolted by Abortion Survivor." CERC.

Visit his web site here.

If you look over at my left side bar you will see the wonderful red button. This is my red button and I don’t like other people to touch it… So do not click the red button!

For real, I found this joke on http://www.poqbum.com/

Here’s what I wrote to my dad this father's day.

Dad, when you’re a father you have to do some things to build relationships with your kids once you done them you bond for life. You need to tell your children you love them that in turn teaches them to love. You need to have fun with them, and then they’ll have fun with their kids. You need to be there for them, and then they won’t ever leave their family. And you need to be an example for them, leading them on the straight and narrow path. All of these things you have done.

You also taught me the fruits of the holy sprit.

Love when you do things with me.

Joy when we’re having fun.

Peace when you take a nap?

Patience by going to Waveland with me.

Kindness by loving me enough to care when I sin.

Goodness by helping people.

Gentleness by the way you take care of us.

Faithfulness by staying with Mom

And self control for not drinking anymore.

Thanks for showing me the way to God who is the light.

Love Eric

P.S. This is what the word father means to me.

For all things you've taught me

And for the example you’ve set for me

Through and through you've shown me the right way to live

Helping me in anything and everything I face

Everyday you're there for me 

Rarely do I get to thank you enough. So on this special day, I do exactly that. 

Yesterday my sister and I were driving home when we saw a car on the shoulder of the road. The driver had hit a deer. We rushed home and my Dad and I went to ask if we could have the deer’s meat. When we got there the policeman just drove away; we couldn’t even talk to him. But Dad got his pickup and we loaded the deer into the bed of the truck and took it home to be butchered. Now we have five or six gallon freezer bags full of choice deer meat, all because someone hit a deer that was crossing the street.

Do you know how many people hit deer each year? Motor vehicles in the U.S. annually hit: 41 million squirrels, 26 million cats, 22 million rats, 19 million opossums, 15 million raccoons, 6 million dogs, and 350,000 deer.

How they raise em' in public school... JK

1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics.

They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that the

inhabitants have to live elsewhere.

2. The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the

Bible, Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their

children, Cain, asked, "Am I my brother's son?"

3. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened

bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount

Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died Before he ever reached Canada.

4. Solomom had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.

5. The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't

have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.

6. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.

7. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice.

They killed him.After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

8. In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled biscuits, and

threw the java.

9. Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks. History calls people Romans

because they never stayed in one place for very long.

10. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides

of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king.

Dying, he gasped out:"Tee hee, Brutus."

11. Nero was a cruel tyranny who would torture his subjects by playing the

fiddle to them.

12. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was cannonized by Bernard Shaw.

13. Finally Magna Carta provided that no man should be hanged twice for the

same offense.

14. In midevil times most people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the

futile ages was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote

literature.

15. Another story was William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while

sittting on his son's head.

16. Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote

Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise

Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.

17. During the Renaissance America began. Christopher Columbus was a great

navigator who discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic. His ships

were called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Fe.

18. One of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the English put tacks in

their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post

without stamps. Finally the colonists won the War and no longer had to pay

for taxis.

19. Soon the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic

hostility. Under the constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare

arms.

20. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest recedent. Lincoln's mother died

in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands.

Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation. On

the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his

seat by one of the actors in a moving picture show. The believed assinator

was John Wilkes Booth, a supposingly insane actor. This ruined Booth's career.

21. Meanwhile in Europe, the enlightenment was a reasonable time. Voltaire

invented electricity and also wrote a book called Candy. Gravity was invented

by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the autumn when the apples are

falling off the trees.

22. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote

loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling

for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.

23. The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire is in

the East and the sun sets in the West. Queen Victoria was the longest queen.

She sat on a thorn for 63 years. She was a moral woman who practiced virtue.

Her death was the final event which ended her reign.

Everyone wants to know what their website visitors are doing; how they found out about your site, what pages they liked, and what made them leave.

Say a word – just say the first thing that pops in your mind. Someone else in the world was just thinking of that word as well. In fact, someone else probably said that word out loud in the last 15 seconds or less! A lot of people search online and if your blog has that one word they searched for then they could end up on your blog. What is all this leading to? Well it’s a relatively new (at least to me) “bug” to put in your blog or website! Site meter has a wealth of features for you to use. You can find out what city and state the people who have visited your blog live in. You can find out what browser they were using and how long they stayed on and of course you can find out how many people where on you blog. Here is a list of the searches people did and where they found my blog.

 http://www.google.com/search?q...ing%22&hl=en&lr=&start=20&sa=N

The search is for "that's my king" and I was fifth on the list

http://www.google.com/search?q...kridge&hl=en&lr=&start=20&sa=N

The search is for SM Lockridge and I was fifth on the list

http://www.google.com/search?c... literature&btnG=Google Search

The search is for my king is the loftiest idea in literature and I was fourth on the list.

  I have four whole pages of places that people entered my web site! With Site Meter you can track the pages people get in on and the pages they leave on. And you know what the best thing is? It’s all free! You can sign up here.

These are completely original sayings I came up with when I first started blogging.

Computer high jacking - when you are so desperate as to take the computer by force.

Getting low down on your blog - posting a blog more then once.

There’s bloggsters and there’s gangsters, but in my book they rate the same (just like the way that sounds). Actually anyone who high-jacks the computer at my house can consider themselves a gangster. 

CTRL V-a short cut people over 50 know about, but are too old-fashioned to use.

Blogging - just another thing to take up your time.

Wireless mouse - another thing to lose.

Computer illiterate - another name for the older generation (I say this with all due respect. At least that’s the way it is in my house).

Feet have been around a long time. Ever since there have been people, there have been feet! Let’s look at the autonomy of a foot.

Feet have a large number of parts in them. To be exact, they have 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, and 19 muscles. The bones in your feet make up about one quarter of all the bones in your body! Walking is an essential part of every day life. The average person takes 10,000 steps a day and in a lifetime they walk about 100,000 miles (that’s around the world four times). Feet were a big part of ancient civilization. When a guest came to your house you offered them water to wash their feet. In the bible there are numerous references to feet. For example, in Isaiah 52: 7 it says “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”         

Keeps the blog envy away! Ok, ok no one famous ever said that but it does work. If you blogged two times a day for 60 days then you would have 120 blogs! If you blogged two blogs a day for a whole year you would have 730 blogs! Talk about being popular.

The Bible says my king is the king of the Jews; He's the king of Israel; He's the king of righteousness. He's the king of the ages. He's the king of heaven. He's the king of glory. He's the king of kings and He's the Lord of Lords. That's my king. Well, I wonder, do you know Him?

No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of his shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's imperially powerful. He's impartially merciful. Do you know Him?

He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's Savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands in the solitude of Himself. He's august and He's unique. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He is the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He is the supreme problem in higher criticism. He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He's the core, the necessity for spiritual religion. He's the miracle of the age. Yes, He is. He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He's the only one qualified to be an all all-sufficient Savior. I wonder if you know Him today.

He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the leper. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captive. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent. And He beautifies the meek. I wonder if you know Him.

Well, this is my king. He's the key to knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. Do you know Him?

Well, His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous and His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you.

He's indescribable. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. Well you can't get him out of your mind. You can't get him off your hands. You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him.

The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him. Yes! That's my king!

Who exactly is "everyone?" Everyone is certainly not me! I'm a contestoholic. Every time I go to the fair I enter all of the free sweepstakes, contests, and drawings. If it involves getting something for free, I'll enter. Now entering is great, but winning once in a while would be nice!

Out of all the contests I've entered (an odd 67 or so), I've won the grand total of none. Unless the car the Menards people said I won was legit. Of course that was the one my mom said "we're not interested, thank you!" and hung up! The funny thing is that I still keep trying to win, to be the "lucky" person. As a matter of fact I just entered this contest:  is Spunky giving away a Benz Microscope and Apologia Biology Set this week.

Stupidity!

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.”

Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)    

“The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.”

Harlan Ellison (1934 - )

“There are more fools in the world than there are people.”

Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

“If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?”

Scott Adams (1957 - )

Oh BTW my blog is under construction…

My big sister knows everything. She’s got the inside scoop… the information… the story. For instance, did you know that the library is using its money from overdue fines to manufacture nuclear weapons for the Soviet Union? At least that’s what my sister told me. Most of us don’t call the police as often as we get the mail, so let’s make the mail carrier work on the holidays and give the police a day off! That’s what my sister would do.

According to my sister, all policemen have a ticket quota that must be filled, so naturally they give her a ticket even though she’s not speeding (ha!). She also knows that Telemarketers are really Gestapo-like agents hired by your mother to see how good your telephone manners are, so you’d better be polite before you hang up.

Like I said, my big sister knows every thing!